Memories in a Box of Ornaments
by HallowRain8587
Summary: Five years divorced, Hermione thought she would face Christmas alone. Ch 31 Ice Skating is posted. Originally inspired by the Hallmark commercials, subplot inspired by "Serpent" by waterflower20, used by permission. Note: Heart emoticon is represented by space 3 in story. Corrections have been made in some chapters. AU/EWE/OoC
1. Prologue

**J.K. Rowling owns the characters and world of Harry Potter.**

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

**Memories in a Box of Ornaments**

She knelt beside the box of Christmas ornaments and began to carefully unwrap them one by one. The tissue paper crinkled around each to protect it from being scratched or breaking while in storage from last year. It was a family tradition to put up the Christmas tree on the first of December.

The tradition arose from Grandmother White who had been Jean Granger's mother. She had come to London during the First World War as a single nurse. At that time Alice Adams had been a fetching auburn haired beauty with cinnamon eyes. She had met and married George White in 1918 and remained in England. She still kept many of her American holiday traditions in order to remain close to home. Putting the Christmas tree up the Friday after Thanksgiving. This was an American harvest holiday set on the last Thursday in November until 1941 when it became the fourth Thursday of November. George had just gone along with the tradition because it made his wife happy. From mother to daughter to granddaughter the tradition was handed down. Hermione had passed the tradition to her daughter also. This was the first Christmas that she would be celebrating alone.

Rose was married and decorating her tree with her new husband. Hugo was still at Hogwarts, but he would not be coming home for Christmas anyway. He was going to his father's home. Ron had remarried after being divorced five years. He and Lavender were expecting their first child the week after Christmas, therefore they had asked Hugo to come for the entire winter break.

The first ornament now extracted from its wrappings was a German blown glass ornament. It was a bright blue disk with a silver quarter moon on one edge and three silver stars on the opposite side. This was a poignant reminder of Hermione's mother sitting in the rocking chair and reading the book "Good Night Moon" over and over to Hermione. She had no memory of this, but her mother had repeated the story every year until Hermione had married. It was her favorite book and she would study the pictures to find the mouse. The page could not be turned until the mouse was found. Hermione had received the book and ornament for her first Christmas. She not only had the ornament, but the book with worn corners and fading paper. It had a place of prominence in Hermione's book shelves.

She rose from where she was sitting on the floor and walked over to the end table and carefully placed the ornament under the lamp. The light played off the silver sparkling stars and the moon winked at her. Then she went to the book shelves and picked up the book. After placing it on the end table next to the ornament, she slowly moved into the kitchen. There she set the kettle on to boil and spooned the English Breakfast Tea into the pot.

She took down the biscuit bin and took out a shortbread. This was another family tradition handed down from her Grandmother White. The recipe had gone from Scotland when the family emigrated in the 1700s to North America and had been made every Christmas and a few holidays in between. It was not made often because the cost of ingredients was often dear. Yes, it was only sugar, butter, and flour, but those were not always available. The women of the family had scrimped and saved in order to make true Scottish shortbread every Christmas.

The kettle boiled and she poured it over the tea leaves, lidded the pot and covered it with a cosy to keep it warm. Placing the tea pot on a tray with a small dessert plate holding the biscuit and a single china cup and saucer, she remembered the first time she had been allowed to use the dessert service. Because they were antiques, she had been eleven and sharing tea with her mother and grandmother the Christmas before she went to Hogwarts. She felt so grown up to be allowed to "have tea with the women". Her grandmother told her how the dishes didn't start out as antiques, but as a wedding present for her grandmother, Hermione's great-great-grandmother. They had been imported into America from England. When Grandmother White had married, her mother had given her the dishes for her first Christmas as a married woman. They had been carefully wrapped and put into crates with wood shavings to protect them before they were put onto the ship and sent back to England. Only the large platter had gotten broken and one cup had a small chip. Alice White had cried when she had seen the damage. George took her back to the original factory where they found replacements, but it had taken them several years to save up to purchase replacements. They really weren't replaced for the originals had been put on display after George carefully glued them back together. When Jean had married Robert Granger, they were given to her that first Christmas as a wife. Then Hermione married Ron she had been given the dishes for the first Christmas of their marriage. After this cup of tea and biscuit they would be carefully washed and packed and given to Rose for the first Christmas with Scorpius.

Carefully Hermione carried the tray into the living room and placed it on the coffee table. She sat down sideways with her stocking feet on the end of the sofa. The tea had steeped, so she poured herself a cup of the dark, hot liquid. With the silver sugar tongs she picked up a single cube of the sweetener and dropped it into the cup. She stirred the tea and then took a sip from the spoon in order to test the temperature of the drink. She turned on the music system with a flick of her wand and smiled to herself as the sounds of Straight, No Chaser Christmas filled the room. She enjoyed the sounds of the all-male choir, but Ron had always complained that he just didn't feel like Christmas with muggle music. Hermione contentedly sat back and took a bite from the biscuit, then opened the book. There was the old woman in the chair, a friend to greet her on this bittersweet night. After finding the little mouse on every page, she put the book down and picked up the ornament. Closing her eyes and listening to the melodic sounds she felt the embossed surface of the ornament. The eyes, nose and mouth of the man in the moon and one, two, three stars on each side of the ornament. Tears fell onto the book in her lap. She was missing her mother, grandmother and daughter. She had resolved not to feel lonely this year even if she were alone. With new resolve she stood and walked to the tree. Earlier she had strung the lights and now she hung the first ornament.

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><p><strong>AN**: The inspiration for this came from the Hallmark Christmas ornament commercials, but these ornaments are ones owned by me. The story going with them is from my imagination. This is my **preliminary round entry into the Advent Calendar Challenge**.


	2. Ch 1 Nutcracker Totem

**Disclaimer: The characters in this story are owned by J.K. Rowling**.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1.<strong>

**The Nutcracker Totem**

With no children to spend the holidays at home Hermione had decided rather than bringing out the Santa's bag Advent Calendar that her mother had made her for Rose's first Christmas, she would take the 24 days leading up to Christmas and add one ornament a day to the tree. On Christmas morning she would put the "baby Jesus" on the tree. Her Christmas tree was going to be the Advent Calendar this year. She wished her family was here with her, but they weren't.

She knelt on the floor over the box of ornaments and withdrew a tissue wrapped package about six inches long. Leaning back against the sofa, carefully she unwrapped the long thin ribbon of paper from around the tall stack of four nutcracker soldiers. When Ron had brought it home he said that it looked like their family, except for the original hair color, of course.

They each had a different that and a unique gaping smile as the lever on the back was moved. The top soldier had a tall black palace guard hat, a black beard, and blue eyes. He wore the red jacket as well. As the smallest one the top one had been named Hugo. Hugo's big blue eyes were the exact shade of blue that had been painted on the nutcracker image. Hugo was no longer the smallest. That honor was now held by Hermione. When had the height of the children exceeded hers? At nineteen Rose was two inches taller than her mother and Hugo at seventeen was more than a foot taller. He was like his father, tall and sturdily built. Both were muscular men after years of Quidditch playing. Hermione remembered the game where Hugo would put his finger in the mouth of the soldier. Rose would squeeze the handle closing it and pretend to bite Hugo.

The second soldier was a Russian Cossack. He also wore a bearskin hat, flat and curly. He was clean shaven and his eyes were painted a golden hazel colour. The jacket he wore was a rich green with silver embroidery painted on. This one they called Rose. The hair was originally blonde strands of yarn had been dyed red by Rose because she wanted it to match her own bright locks. She had read that you could dye hair with powdered soft drink mix and bought orange and red which she mixed together with hair conditioner and not only this soldier, but all of her dolls had ended up with the most brilliant shade of red-orange hair. A few blobs had dropped down the back onto the bright white jacket of the third soldier leaving a stain here and there where she had tried to clean it away.

The sailor in his white uniform and square collar trimmed in navy blue and a navy blue tie under the collar tied at the front. He wore a white sailor cap perched jauntily on top of his short brown locks. He too was clean shaven, with a toothy grin and fudge brown eyes. This one they named Mom. When you turned the totem around to the back to play with the lever you could see the three light orange spots where Rose had splashed "hair dye" when she had "fixed" the Rose nutcracker. The reason that the sailor was called Mom was that she didn't like to fly so they decided that she could be in the navy.

The final and bottom nutcracker was wearing a crown. The family often thought that this was ridiculous because a king should have been on the top. The king was Dad, dressed in all his regal glory. Rich royal purple robe that extended to his gold shoes and gold ruffed collar and cuffs finished the ensemble. Hermione had said that Ron was king of the castle, therefore this one was appropriate. His white beard and hair had been messily dyed by Rose. The "hair-dye fiasco" they laughingly called it, but loved her ingenuity. Ron was proud that he had been crowned king of something.

When Hermione and Ron divorced and had split the ornaments four ways. The ones they had bought for Rose—her ballerina, first Christmas bootie with her name on it, the wand bought her first Christmas at Hogwarts, the red convertible purchased her sixteenth year because she wanted a muggle car, and many more—had gone with her to hers and Scorpius' new home. They would be joined with the "White china" later this evening. Hugo's box had been carefully stored in the attic of Ron's house. He and Lavender had bought a large estate on the outskirts of London, while Hermione had bought a sixth floor, four bedroom flat on the edge between muggle and wizard London when they sold the family home after the divorce. The remainder of the ornaments had been split carefully between Ron and Hermione. The ones that held sentimental value to Hermione had gone to her, the gifts from Ron's family had gone to him and the remainder had split fifty-fifty each drawing an ornament in turn. Hermione had drawn first and had chosen the nutcracker. Even though they were no longer the family it represented, it still represented the family they had created.

Hermione stuck her right index finger into the top nutcracker and pinched it by closing the mouth with the left. She smiled, pulled the finger out of the mouth, picked up an ornament hanger, slipped it through the top loop on the ornament and hung it on the tree. Maybe the tree and ornaments would fill that hole in her heart for the ornaments had been given in love and each represented memories of the times they had together. She no longer wished they were here, because they were—just look at the totem with the red dyed hair.

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><p><strong>Advent Calendar Challenge December 1 Prompt:<strong> Advent Calendar

**Astronomy Assignment #9: **Write about a character's secret desire.


	3. Ch 2 The Drum

**Disclaimer: The character in this chapter is owned by J.K. Rowling.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2.<strong>

**The Drum**

Hermione walked up to the door of her flat holding a cup of steaming eggnog latte that she had picked up at the local coffee shop on her way home from work. She had put a stasis charm on it in order to keep it warm on the short walk. She flicked a piece of lint from the cheerful wreath that adorned her front door, and then unlocked it to enter. Setting the foam cup down on the mantle, she reached down and unzipped her boots. Steadying herself on the wall, she slipped her feet out of them and into the nearby scuff slippers. Crossing the entryway she opened the door to her cloak closet. After hanging up her traveling cloak, she went back and picked up the boots and put them on an old copy of _"The Daily Prophet"_. This was the best use for that paper she had found lately.

She picked up the latte and then she went into the kitchen to transfer the warm drink into a chocolate pot. She bought a new set of china last week to replace the "White china" that she was giving to Rose for Christmas. First she filled the small pot with hot water to warm. She thought about her tree decorating plan, one ornament per day until Christmas, like an advent calendar. Hermione had all of the time in the world with the children gone. She looked at the pattern on the white bone china she had selected, traced the embossed delicate white flowers and the platinum rim around the edge. She had fallen in love with the stark sameness immediately when she had found it in the store. The tidy pattern made her comfortable. It suited her to a T.

She poured the warming water from the Chocolate pot, and then poured the eggnog latte in, and then she placed the pot on the tray. She reached into the cupboard and took out a single cup and saucer. Placing them on the tray she turned and looked at her mobile phone. There was a text message from a number she did not recognize. She would read it in a minute. After inhaling the heady scent of the latte, she poured a cupful and returned the stasis charm to the pot. She stirred the drink and took a sip from the spoon.

Glancing at the phone again, she checked the messages. "Seek where you enter, where you step, watch with care, keep your eyes open, you will find joy there. 3" Hermione gave a small chuckle at the emoticon for a heart then reread the message. Just then the doorbell rang. Rising from the sofa she went to the door. She checked the peep-hole to see who was calling at the door. There was nobody at the door and nobody in the hallway as far as she could see. She carefully unlocked the door and opened it without removing the wards. There on the doormat lay a beautifully wrapped present. After checking for charms and hexes that might harm her and finding none, she picked it up and brought it in.

She started to place it under the tree, and then noticed a card with a carefully scripted message. "_Open me now!"_ She placed the package on the coffee table near the tray and took the card from the package and sat back down. She looked at the quality of the parchment and the beautiful calligraphy. The green letters were the exact shade of green on the flocked paper. The raised leaves embossed in the flocking were echoed in one corner of the card. The only other clue on the card was a green heart that echoed the emoticon from the text message. There was a silver ribbon tying the package and a luxurious bow that was nearly as big as the box.

With a shaky hand she slid the ribbon from the box. First the long side then the shorter side slid off and Hermione paused to look at the green package. It was about 30 centimeters long, slightly smaller on the width and about ten centimeters high. She slipped a manicured fingernail under the tape on one end then the other and thought that it has been wrapped like her mother used to do presents. Last she opened the remaining strip of tape, the one securing the long side of the box. Inside was a white box. When she lifted the top from it there lay a small toy snare drum nestled in tissue paper, white decorated with green holly leaves and red berries. Withdrawing the drum from the box she carefully examined it. The sides were red and there were gold metal wires screwed to the wood rims holding the skins to the top and the bottom of the drum. There were drumsticks tied to the side of the drum with a narrow green ribbon that formed a larger loop where the hanger would attach.

Where she had removed the drum, something else peeked through the tissue paper that had kept everything in place. Removing the paper, Hermione gasped. There lay a colorful first edition of "The Little Drummer Boy". _"Who had remembered that this was a favorite story from my childhood?_" she thought. When she removed the book there was another layer of tissue paper and a DVD of the story. There was a bookmark sticking out of the book made from delicate Irish lace, crisp and white with a green tassel. Someone had really put a lot of thought into this gift and Hermione was touched.

She hung the little drum on the tree and returned to the sofa. Picking up the book she saw another piece of parchment fall out as she opened it. After retrieving it from the floor she read, "The sound of a drum is like the beat of my heart full of love," There it ended. She turned it over, but there was no more to the message. Life had presented her a mystery. "_Who had known she was decorating her tree? Only her family knew- well a few friends knew as well."_

She reached down to open and read the book, but then she was struck with an idea. She picked up the mobile from the end table where she had laid it when she went to answer the door. Even though she didn't recognize the number, she sent a reply to the text, "Thank you very much. You made my day!"

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><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 2 Challenge Prompt<strong>: "Eggnog Latte"


	4. Ch 3 Dance Ballerina, Dance

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the character Hermione Granger.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3.<strong>

**Dance Ballerina, Dance**

The next ornament Hermione removed from the box made her laugh. She was a clumsy child at three with a terrible limp. The doctors and her mother thought that the discipline of ballet would help teach her to walk with grace, or at least something resembling it. When she was five her ballet class had been chosen to be part of the children's corps de ballet for the performance of the Nutcracker at a local University. She had been thrilled to be a part of the illustrious group of performers. She had her costumes fitted. Her mother had taken her to buy a new pair of shoes for the performances. In the Christmas store next to where they bought the white ballet shoes, Hermione had seen the Ballerina ornament and begged her mother for it. Jean had told her that they couldn't afford it that day because they had just purchased the shoes. When they went to the door, Jean pretended to have forgotten her wallet when she was at the counter, told Hermione to wait there looking at the music boxes and went back to purchase the ornament as a surprise.

After the first performance when Jean and David Granger met Hermione at the stage door they gave her a bouquet of pink roses to congratulate her on the beautiful job she had done. Hermione felt so grown up. After the last performance she was again met with a bouquet of yellow roses. Nestled in the center was the ballerina wrapped in cellowrap so that the ballerina would not get wet from the moisture on the roses. Hermione was so excited that she pirouetted on the spot for her mother and father.

Hermione walked back to the sofa and sat in her favorite corner with the ballerina ornament in her hands. She picked up her wand and waved the CD player on. Soon the strains of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite came from the speakers. She picked up the white china teacup, savored the scent and took a sip of the peppermint tea. Sitting back on the sofa she kicked off her slippers, and then curled her feet beside her on the cushion. She pulled back the layers of tissue and began to examine the porcelain doll, for the ornament was truly a doll. She ran her finger over the brown hair pulled back into a tight bun at the nape of the ballerina's neck. On the top of her head she wore a delicate crown of gold and silver. Her arms were drawn in to increase the speed of the spin and her long thin legs were clad in white tights. The slipper clad feet were on pointe. The beautiful was posed as though she had stopped in the middle of a pirouette with one leg raised. She examined the tutu carefully. The ballerina was wearing the costume of the Sugar Plum Fairy, the star of the second act of the ballet. The strains of that particular piece of the music played as Hermione rose to put the delicate ballerina on the tree. She waved her wand to turn the white fairy lights on and the tree shone brightly as they twinkled.

Glancing down at the throw rug inside the door as Hermione turned to return to her seat on the sofa. She spied an envelope with the same beautiful green calligraphy as before. Picking it up she looked for clues to help her discern the person she had dubbed her Secret Santa. There were none. Taking another sip of the peppermint tea after sitting back down on the sofa, she read the message on the envelope. _"Open me!"_ was all that was written on the outside. Turning it over she found a splash of green sealing wax and a holly leaf patterned seal pressed in the center. Under the wax on top of the envelope flap was a loop of silver ribbon that when pulled opened the seal. Inside was a sheet of parchment and four tickets to the London Ballet performance of The Nutcracker on December 27. The tickets were in a really good location for they were center right stage box. She was thrilled at the prospect of attending the performance. Who she would take with her was the next problem. She would think of that tomorrow. For now she sat back in her seat and read the words from the parchment, _"I know that you love the ballet, please enjoy the performance." _At the end where the signature would go were the green holly leaves and heart.

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><p><strong>Day 3, Advent Callendar Challenge Prompt:<strong> Sugar Plum Fairy


	5. Ch 4 Hogwarts Express

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Hermione and Ginny.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4.<strong>

**Hogwarts Express**

Hermione was so glad that it was Friday. She stopped at her favorite Thai place and picked up the take-out order she had called ahead for. The thought of the Chicken Pad Thai had her mouth watering as she approached the door of her flat. The song on her mobile let her know there was a new text message. She reached into her leather bag and pulled out the device and glanced at the screen. There was a new text message from the same caller as a couple of nights before. _"Look down, don't frown, it gives me pleasure, to give a treasure. 3" _She glanced around and there again was a package on her doormat. Unlocking the door first, she then reached down and picked up the unexpected gift. She nearly dropped her supper on the floor as she leaned over, but made it safely inside with the food, her bag and the gift.

Slipping out of her pumps as she entered the flat, she moved swiftly through to the kitchen where she deposited her load on the table before going to the bedroom to change into something comfortable. The floo lit up with a call and she rushed to the living room to answer. Ginny Potter, her best friend in spite of also being her ex-sister-in-law, was checking to see if Hermione was home before coming over as previously arranged. "Step on through, I just picked up the take-out for supper."

A second later Ginny entered the room, gave her a quick hug and asked, "What are we eating?"

"I bought Chicken Pad Thai," responded Hermione. "Do you want to eat in the kitchen, dining room or living room?"

"Let's set up on the coffee table and put a new CD in the player so we can chat while we eat." Ginny laughed gaily, then added, "we don't get together without the others often enough anymore." Leaning over the kitchen table she asked, "What's this?" She picked up the wrapped gift and fingered the beautiful red flocked paper. With a curious glance she noticed the parchment card with the green calligraphy that was slipped under the gold lacy ribbon topped with a small sprig of mistletoe. "It says, '_Open me! Don't wait!' _on the card."

"It's a mystery," replied Hermione. She took two large soup plates from the cupboard for the noodles, then opened a cupboard door and took out two pair of chopsticks from the glass spoon holder. "Do you want tea, water or wine with supper?"

"Wine and don't change the subject ," admonished Ginny.

Gathering her thoughts and arguing whether or not to tell Ginny about the first gift in her mind, Hermione slowly said, "It's a mystery. We will talk about it over supper." She dished the warm noodles into the plates and poured the Chardonnay into two wine glasses. "I forgot, would you rather have a fork?"

"No, chopsticks are fine I'll bring the wine and the mystery through."

Hermione picked up the plates of Pad Thai and grabbed a couple of placemats off the counter. The red placemats edged in gold ribbon binding had a green napkin tied to them with the same gold ribbon. She dropped them onto the coffee table and spread them apart so that she could place the plates one on each. Ginny put a wine glass in front of each of them and sat cross-legged on the floor between the sofa and low table. She flicked her wand and the sounds of Annie Lennox came floating through singing Christmas carols. Ginny had always liked Hermione's collection of Christmas music. She had a mixture of muggle and wizard music now that wizards had figured out how to record their music onto CDs too.

Hermione sat in her usual spot on the sofa and curled her legs under her. She picked up her plate in her left hand and the chopsticks in her right and began to eat. She hoped Ginny would be distracted by her food and forget the mystery gift. This was not to be allowed.

"So-o-o-o, what is the mystery?" Ginny asked dragging out the "o" in so for a full eight count of the music. Then looking at the parchment note again she noticed the little green heart in the corner. "Who is sending you love notes?"

"Love notes?" Hermione enquired.

"Love notes," Ginny replied. "There is a little green heart at the end of the message."

Drawing a deep breath and taking a sip of wine to put off the inevitable, Hermione began, "This is the second one this week. It is preceded by a text message on my mobile from a number I don't recognize. The message is bad poetry and ended with the emoticon for a heart."

"Bad poetry and a heart?" interrupted Ginny. "What else?"

"The first was wrapped in green with a silver bow," Hermione responded and glanced across the room to the shelf of the table on which the tree stood. Ginny followed her gaze and raised an eyebrow, but didn't interrupt again. "It had a drum ornament in it. The package also included a book and a DVD. 'The Little Drummer Boy' DVD is the one from the television movie and the book is a first edition."

Ginny jumped up and picked the book off the display shelf. "Oh, this is wonderful!" she exclaimed. "I remember you telling the story to the children and singing the song when they were little." Placing it back on the shelf, she asked, "who, outside the family, knew your love of the story?"

"I haven't a clue," replied her friend. "Anyway let's open the package and see what is in it," her voice more steady than the nervousness she was feeling.

Hermione read the parchment and wondered again who was sending her gifts. She played with the gold lace bow as she read the parchment note with the careful green calligraphy, '_Open me! Don't wait!' _Down below the text was a cluster of green leaves on the left and a green heart on the right. Beautifully rich paper, again was carefully wrapping the package. She marveled at the care that had been taken. She slipped a finger under the tape on one end then the other.

"Oh, give it here!" Ginny exclaimed, "I can get it open in a second," reaching across the table to grab the package from her friend.

"Keep you knickers on," Hermione laughed. "I love the anticipation." She lifted the third piece of tape, slid the wrapping from the package, and carefully set it aside. Her eyes danced with glee as she watched Ginny's impatience. The white box held no clues as to its contents. Carefully she opened one end and pulled out the bubble wrapped contents. Removing the packing revealed a bright red steam engine with black and silver accents. Gold lettering on each side of the cab read "Hogwarts Express". As she turned it over to examine it carefully she found gold calligraphy on the bottom with the date "September 1, 1991", the date she first rode the train to Hogwarts. As she was thinking about this clue, Ginny snatched it from her hands.

"Who do you think is giving you mysterious gifts?" Ginny asked.

Hermione's reply was the same, that she hadn't a clue. After allowing her friend to examine the train, Hermione rose and took it from her. She walked across the room and picked up an ornament hanger from the bowl. She hung the engine on the tree about half way up and returned to her seat on the sofa. She hugged Ginny to her as she leaned forward and asked, "Who do you think it could be?"

Ginny leaned in and said, "Well they know you read muggle Christmas stories to the children and the date you went to Hogwarts. I would assume it is family or close friend."

"It could be someone from work, too," Hermione replied. "I have mentioned it from time to time over the years." Then with a sharp laugh she added, "That cuts it down to a dozen muggles and half the wizarding world." She picked up the mobile and replied to the text message, "_Thanks for the thoughtful gift."_

She cleared the soup plates from the coffee table and asked, "Would you like more wine?"

"No, Harry is waiting up for me," Ginny answered and lifted one eyebrow suggestively. She slipped on her shoes and took a handful of floo powder from the ornamental bowl on the mantle. With a slight of hand she attached the mistletoe to the center of the mantle so that whoever entered through the floo would be under it and deserving of a kiss. Poof, she was gone before Hermione returned from the kitchen.

When she returned to the living room, Hermione picked up the wrapping paper, box and ribbon and walked across to the tree. She pressed the creases from the paper, then folded it and placed it on the green wrapping from the earlier gift. She put the ribbon into the large brandy snifter. She carried the box down the hall to the closet and put the box on a shelf to have it ready when she packed the ornaments away after the holidays.

She heard the sound of a new text message arriving on her mobile. When she got there she saw a single word, _"Yours. 3"_ Hermione smiled and went to bed.

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><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 4 Prompt:<strong> Mistletoe


	6. Ch 5 Christmas Village

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Hermione and her neighborhood.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5.<strong>

**A Christmas Village**

Hermione sat in her office reading through another missive from the Minister of Magic. She really did like her position as Minister's Special Liaison of Education. She, not so jokingly, told people who asked what she did was referee fights between the Board of Governors and the Administrators of Hogwarts. She got along well with Headmistress McGonagall and Andromeda Tonks, Head of the Board of Governor and they got along with each other. She mainly presented their ideas to the Wizengamot and begged for funding. McGonagall and Tonks were working on increasing the curriculum to include more relatable muggle studies courses in order to make the transition from school to real life easier for the students. Glancing at her watch she noticed that it was time to leave, but she had about half an hour's more work to finish the report she was writing. Also, she decided that she would set up the Christmas Village under the tree rather than putting an ornament on it after work.

Hermione decided that this would be a good night for pizza delivery because there was so much time involved in setting up the Christmas Village. She unlocked the door. After she entered the flat, she kicked off her shoes, picked them up and dropped her bag on the sofa. She put the shoes and her cloak in the closet and stepped into her slippers. Feeling cool she waved her wand to start a small fire in the fireplace. Reaching into her bag, Hermione pulled out the mobile and called to order a pizza—medium, hand-tossed, mushroom and sausage.

Hermione opened the cupboard in the kitchen and took out a stoneware plate. From the freezer she took a chilled stein. Fondly she remembered her American friend Pat, who had introduced her to chilled glassware for chilled alcoholic beverages. _"Pat had been a character. She told her that if you chilled your glassware, you didn't have to water down your liquor with ice. Pat preferred her beer straight from the bottle so she kept it in the fridge as well. When she had revolted at drinking from the bottle, except when pissed, Pat introduced her to chilled steins. Pat had the nerve to call her "the Princess of Hoity-Toity" or PHHT for short. They had laughed that it sounded like the rude noise a cat made when it was not impressed by someone else's attitude,"_ Hermione remembered. _"Princess Hermione of Hoity-Toity was friends with PAR, Pat the American Rebel." _Shaking herself out of her reverie, Hermione took a chilled beer from the refrigerator, popped the top, and carefully poured it down the side of the tilted stein.

She took the plate, a placemat and napkin and the stein through to the living room. She set a place on the coffee table and then went to the three boxes holding the Christmas Village. Removing the lid from the first box, she revealed a white tissue paper nest. Carefully she removed the buildings, one at a time. The procedure was repeated twice more. When Hermione got up to put the empty boxes in the hall closet she heard the doorbell ring. Setting them back down, she picked up her bag and went to the door. After checking the peep-hole she withdrew her wallet and opened the door to get the pizza. After paying for the pizza and tipping the delivery girl, she sat the pizza box on the coffee table and prepared for supper.

While eating the pizza she planned the layout for the village. Hermione and her parents had painted the village over the period of five years beginning when she first entered primary school. The earlier ones done by Hermione were a little messy and had paint splotches outside the spaces, but they were no less dear than the buildings painted with precision by her father. She had painted in gaudy colors, the purple house, the primary colours of the Ferris Wheel, and the emerald green tree with a shaky garland in her early years. Her mother's careful garlands strewn with holly resplendent with red berries and wreaths festooned with red bows adorned the lighthouse and the keeper's dwelling. The bricks on the cathedral were each painted separately and shaded carefully so that the mortar between was pristine showcasing her father's touch. There was a petrol station with pumps, a candy store with peppermint striped awnings and a corner store with bins of fruits and vegetables in the windows. This year Hermione decided, she would use a traditional village layout with the Library, Police Station, Fire House and City Hall lining three sides of a square. In the center of the square would be the funky tree and to one side an ice rink made from a mirror. Cotton batting would make the banked snow and she found the little bench in a separate box with the little trees and shrubs. The light poles were each topped with a small lamp. The last items in the box were the people that would populate the village. The grocer in his apron, the police man in his navy blue with a black belt, the shoppers in coats and muffs for the women and gloves for the men. Last she placed the ice skaters on the mirror as if they were ice skating. With a wave of her wand, the lights on the tree came on. Another wave turned on the strains of Manheim Steamroller from the CD player.

Sitting back on the sofa she picked up the beer and took a long sip. Then she studied the scene on a cotton batting covered table. It was a wonderful, cheery Christmas scene. Hermione decided that to put it on a table for better viewing than under the tree. Besides she had gotten a smaller tree this year and set it up on a table. Normally she would have had a tree that reached from floor to ceiling, but it just seemed excessive.

Rising to take the dishes to the kitchen Hermione heard the tapping of an owl on the glass. She opened the kitchen window to a beautiful magnificent eagle owl. The owl had a parchment tied to its leg with a green grosgrain ribbon. In its beak it held a small white box, also tied with the grosgrain ribbon. Hermione quickly shut the window to prevent the owl from leaving as soon as the parchment was removed for she wanted to send a return note. The parchment opened immediately upon untying to reveal the message, _"Another ornament for your Christmas tree." _The signature green leaves and heart were at the end. She removed the lid from the box and revealed an ice skater with a note. _"Do you want to go skating with me on December 30?"_ She gave the owl a treat while she wrote, _"Yes!"_ at the bottom of the invitation.

After sending the owl on its way Hermione hung the skater in the red skating dress on the tree. She was having second thoughts about accepting the invitation from a Secret Santa. Then she thought again, _"This person knows me well, very well indeed."_

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><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 5 prompt: <strong>Ice Rink/Ice Skating


	7. Ch 6 Rose of My Heart

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the world of Harry Potter.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6.<strong>

**Rose of My Heart**

Hermione hummed along with the Christmas CD that she had in her player. She danced about the kitchen wearing a colourful Christmas jumper and knit leggings as the player switched to the lively "Jingle Bell Rock". The jumper was red with an angry cat wrapped in lights and ornaments glaring from the front. When Hermione turned around the back revealed the back of the cat with more of the lights and tinsel hanging from the tail. The aroma of homemade fruitcake filled the air. This was another family recipe and one she usually made in October so that it could marinate in the whisky. She just had not been in the mood back then. The fifth anniversary of her divorce was on the third of October and though she had been more relieved than upset. The romantic love had died long before the marriage did. She and Ron had separated when Hugo had begun school, but had not been inclined to divorce until Ron had wanted to marry again. That was Hugo's second year at Hogwarts, and now he was in his last.

She shook herself out of the reverie at the sound of the timer. The music changed again to the sounds of the "Carol of the Bells". This was a favorite of hers. The clear a capella sounds of the mixed choir sounded like bells pealing with their tones, "Hark how the bells, sweet silver bells …" She pulled the last four loaves of the fruitcake from the oven and set them on the cooling rack. The spiced scent filled the air even stronger than before and mingled with the peppermint and chocolate of her hot drink. She sliced a piece of an already cooled fruitcake and put it on the dessert plate that was set on a tray. Next to it she placed a mug full of hot chocolate, not the packaged drink mix kind, but the made from scratch, scald the milk, stir in the sugar and cocoa, add the vanilla and peppermint kind. She opened the cupboard and took out a bottle of peppermint schnapps and measured a jigger of it and poured it into the mug. Putting it back, she drew a peppermint candy cane from the package and shut the cupboard. She stirred the schnapps into the chocolate beverage with the candy stick. A cheery red napkin lined the tray and a green one lay under the silver dessert fork setting off the white china.

Carefully carrying the tray to the living room she took in the holiday décor before she set the tray on the coffee table. Since she was alone this year, she had decided to get a small tree and put it on a table near the window. The white lights twinkled and reflected in the panes like the stars in the sky. She had moved the Christmas Village to a card table that she had enlarged and placed in the corner of her living room. There was a long evergreen garland with sprigs of holly tied with red bows where it was attached to the mantle over the large fireplace. Not only did the fireplace provide a place for Santa to enter the flat, but when opened allowed friends floo access. Right now there was a small fire in the grate. The rest of the windows had candles lit on their sills and the draperies tied back so that they would not catch fire. Those tall white candles were set in the middle of an evergreen bough and were tied in red bows edged with gold.

Hermione walked over to the box of ornaments to choose the third one for the tree. Feeling into the papers, squeezing one here and one there, then she selected one from the box and walked back to the sofa and sat in one corner. She curled her feet under her and she lay back against the cushions. Taking a sip of the spiked hot chocolate she savored the chocolaty, pepperminty flavor of the drink. She felt it warm her as in filled all her senses. She felt the warmth of the cup and beverage. She smelled the heady aroma. She saw the dark brown beverage in the white cup offset by the white and red striped candy stirrer. She heard the soft singing of "Ave Maria" from the CD player. Setting the cup down she took a bite of the fruitcake. It tasted wonderful, but would be much better by the end of the month when Hermione would carefully wrap most of the loaves and place them on Christmas plates to be given as gifts to friends and family.

The layers of tissue paper were removed from the ornament, then the cloth that wrapped the silver heart shaped picture frame. Only one spot of tarnish was visible and she carefully rubbed it off with the cloth. The careful wrapping had served its purpose. The silver gleamed. On the back was engraved "_Rose Weasley, born April 9, 2006"_. The front held a picture of a smiling baby girl with green taffeta dress edged in white lace and four silver buttons down the front. She had bright blue eyes like her daddy and his red hair, though thin and short, covered her head. The white teddy bear with a large red bow collar was nearly as big as she was. One ear was being chewed by the four tiny white teeth that could barely be seen in the grinning mouth. Hermione hugged the picture to her breast and said a prayer for Rose's happiness. Then she brushed a kiss on her index finger and wiped it on the chubby cheek of the little girl. This picture was a duplicate of one in Rose's box and done intentionally. Hermione had known that one day her little girl, the Rose of her heart, would be leaving to start her own life and want the ornament, so Hermione had two of them made. In retrospect she should have had three made, but at that stage of their marriage she had no clue that there would be a divorce and a need for a third ornament.

The ornament was hung where Hermione could see Rose's smiling baby face whenever she looked at the tree from her favorite spot on the sofa. Yes, though she was grown, she was still "Rose of her heart".

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><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 6 prompt:<strong> Christmas jumper


	8. Ch 7 Bubble Lights

**Disclaimer: Harry, Draco and Hermione were created by J.K. Rowling and she owns them. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 7.<strong>

**Bubble Lights**

As Hermione was dressing for work the next day, she remembered that she had not gotten out her bubble lights. This string was not an old string, but a string of reproductions. The heat from the electricity would warm a liquid within a tube and cause air bubbles to go to the top of the sealed tube. They were set on a larger base and mimicked a badly drawn candle. Hermione loved the bright red, green, yellow, orange and blue of their light. It was always so cheerful.

When she arrived at work and was flipping through her daily planner, Harry entered the office. "How are things on the Education front?"

"Lots to learn," was her the reply from over the stacked "In box".

Harry asked, "Are you coming over to our house tonight? I know you owled a positive reply, but was not sure you would be still coming."

"Why ever not?" replied Hermione. "My evenings this season seem to be the most free time on my calendar. Who schedules nine meetings in an eight hour workday?"

"You should tell Janice that you will allow no more than one meeting in the morning and one in the afternoon."

"I have," Hermione replied, "but there always seems to be a crisis. Education is not firefighting and nothing should be that urgent. I even put a note on the scheduling calendar she has that says, _'Failure to plan on your part, does not mean emergency meeting on my part.' _Nobody pays attention. I borrowed that phrase from something I read."

Draco Malfoy was standing leaning on the door frame during the last exchange. "Of course you read it somewhere. You have either read or written most of the words in the English language and are getting close on French and Latin," he added jokingly, "that's why you are the Education Liaison. What are both of you doing on Friday night after work?"

_"Friday is my second favourite F-Word!"_ whispered Harry with a lewd grin thinking of his wife, Ginny waiting for him at home. They had really been enjoying being empty nesters with all the kids either at school or living on their own.

_"Do you have to be so vulgar?" _hissed Hermione_._

_"What - I didn't actually say it..."_ replied an embarrassed Harry_._

Draco on the other hand was studying his fingernails as though they were the most interesting thing on earth. He smirked, "If you can fit it in between the extracurricular activities, I am having a few friends over to my flat before their kids get home from school. Just hors d'oeuvres, canapés, crudités and antipasto served with butterbeer, wine, or whisky, I'm doing nothing special. I just thought we could have some of us sit around and visit. We haven't had a chance in a while and with the holiday moving rapidly upon us. We soon will all be immersed in one family gathering after another. They seem to come fast and furiously. Since Scorp became a Weasley and by relation to him, I have invitations for every night leading up to Christmas and two for Christmas day," he added feigning fear, but there was a smile in his eyes.

_"_I know what you mean," replied Harry. "And even though Hermione isn't a first degree Weasley any more, she is still a second degree Weasley since she is a Weasley mom. You are a third degree Weasley, Draco. Did you ever think you would see the day?"

"I never thought in my youth I would even be a fifty-second degree Weasley," replied the blond man, moving away from the door frame and taking a seat in Hermione's second guest chair. The furniture in her office, he thought reflected her personality. Classy, comfortable, functional and funky were all words that could describe it. No one style was overly represented, but the melding made her office warm and inviting, much like the tenant.

"Oh, but you were much closer than that Molly's uncle married a Black from the generation before your mother's," stated Hermione. Then she added, "If you have pureblood you are related. Aren't there only twenty-eight pureblood families?"

Harry laughed, "Well, we can mark the Malfoys off that list for the next heir because Rose is half-blood. It is kind of like me being the downfall of the pureblood Potters."

"Just think of what kind of family gatherings the Blacks could have if they hadn't all died, been expunged, or killed?" mused Hermione as she rose and went to office door. "Janice, seems as though we are having a business meeting over lunch. Why don't you get sandwiches for Harry, Draco and me? We could do with some tea, too. You know what we like. After you return you can go to lunch, but please don't schedule any more meetings for me this week. I have too much research for the ones already booked."

They all relaxed into a comfortable silence. Then Draco asked, "So, are you coming on Friday?"

"There is nothing I would rather do, unlike some of us in this room," replied the witch referring to the earlier exchange where Harry had shared too much information.

"Only if I can bring my wife," answered Harry.

"Wouldn't have it any other way. What is new on the Education front, Hermione?"

"You should know since you are on the Board of Governors for Hogwarts. What do you two know that I am missing? Both of you have asked me the same question using the same words and that has to be planned," Hermione pointed out.

"Have you looked into the plans to add more vocational education classes? Not the usual apprenticeships, but the new classes would be for those who did not want to teach or become Ministry minions. You originally introduced it at the spring meeting last year, remember? The Headmistress has sent me her feasibility analysis, didn't you get yours?"

_"_Yes, I remember suggesting it," answered Hermione, "and no, I haven't seen her reply. Do you have the response from the Board?"

"I think that is covered by the Friday morning meeting on your calendar. You know the one from eleven o'clock to one o'clock. It is a lunch meeting at Hogwarts in the staff room after the Express leaves taking the little darlings home." Draco filled her in on the schedule.

"Where do you come in on this, Harry?" she asked.

He answered carefully, hoping to not give away the surprise, "I have been invited as a consultant."

The trio discussed the ins and outs of having vocational education and whether muggle systems would work in their world as they ate their lunch.

Harry was the first to rise to leave. Hermione came around to the desk and gave him a sisterly hug and a quick peck on the cheek. "See you Friday for lunch, if not sooner," she said when he returned the favor.

Draco sat in the comfortable leather chair a couple of moments longer, and then rose. He grabbed Hermione for a hug also, but his kiss lingered on her cheek. Huskily he whispered into her ear,_ "Looking forward to seeing you at all those Weasley family gatherings." _Before she could respond he let go of her waist and took her hand and brought it to his lips, "Until Friday's meeting …" There was a kiss on the palm and a pregnant silence followed for a couple of seconds before he left her office.

The afternoon's meetings went much quicker than Hermione had expected. Before she knew it she was entering her apartment. The second half of her cold cut sub had been carefully wrapped and chilled, so she would add a dish of fruit to complete her supper. She poured a cup of apple cider and added a cinnamon stick and a couple of cloves and put it into the microwave to heat. She knew it would not be good as it would if she had allowed it to mull properly. She would wait to drink it after she had finished eating and putting the bubble lights on the tree.

Hermione contemplated strategy since they should have gone on with the fairy lights and before any ornaments. Finally she decided that she would remove the ornaments, add the lights and then redecorate the tree. Carefully she removed the picture of Rose, the ice skater, the Hogwarts Express, the silvery moon, the ballerina, the drum and the family nutcracker totem and lay them on the coffee table. She took the string of bubble lights and beginning at a low limb near the outlet clipped the bulbous base of the first candle-like light to the branch so that the light would remain upright. One after another she clipped each to the tree moving from the bottom to the top with the final, white bubble light just below where the angel would sit. She walked to the coffee table and picked up an ornament. Crossing back to the tree she began to rehang them one at a time, a separate trip for each. She heard a small noise behind her as she walked back with the third ornament, but ignored it thinking it was Crookshanks playing with a toy. Seven times she made her way back and forth from the low table to the tree.

When she went back to sit on the sofa she noticed a package. This time the mysterious package was wrapped in white flocked paper and tied with a red satin ribbon. There was a parchment with the familiar green ink,_"You are the sun in my days and the moon in my nights." _The familiar green holly leaf and heart signature was at the end. Hermione slid the ribbon off, stood up and walked over to the colorful dish holding the rest of the bows. Then she sat down and lifted the tape from the package. Inside was a white box. When Hermione opened one end to slide out the bubble wrapped ornament, she was greeted with a shining glittery surprise. Inside was a blown glass ornament the same size as the one she called "Good Night Moon", but this one was gold on one side and silver on the other. The gold side was a smiling happy sun, whereas the silver side was a full moon with closed eyes and a striped night cap with alternating silver and gold. As she slipped an ornament hanger through the braided loop of gold and silver and went to hang it on the tree, Hermione thought,_"I definitely need to call Harry because my wards seem to be letting someone in without setting off the alarm."_

Hermione slipped on a pair of comfortable shoes and grabbed a sweater since she was going by floo to Ginny's and Harry's and wouldn't need a coat or boots.

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><p><strong>Prompt<strong>: Family gathering

**Phrase prompt:**

_"Friday is my second favourite F-Word!"/_

_"Do you have to be so vulgar?"/ _

_"What - I didn't actually say it..."/_


	9. Ch 8 Under the Dome

**Disclaimer: The characters in this story are wholy owned by J.K. Rowling.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 8.<strong>

**Under the Dome**

Sitting on the floor cross-legged, Hermione looked at the lid to the ornament box. Finding the one she wanted she removed the tissue wrapped treasure. Reaching over to her right she picked up the wine glass from the floor. She had discovered white Zinfandel. It was a nice light wine that she was going to pair with a grilled chicken breast and tossed salad. Gracefully she stood and walked across the room. She set the wine glass on the green placemat that was on the coffee table. Next to it she placed the tissue-wrapped ornament. Sounds of Burl Ives filled the room. Hermione was feeling nostalgic tonight.

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><p>Snow globes were a mystery to a three year old Hermione. The fact that there was a scene within each, complete, miniature, and perfect. Some played music and some did not. At three, she wasn't certain how it happened. The real magic occurred when you turned them over and back right side up. The snow or glitter would shower down on the scene making it even more beautiful.<p>

The Christmas after Hermione turned sixteen all she wanted was a break from the horrible Professor Umbridge. When she went home she complained without ceasing about the woman and the fact that she was so totally evil. Hermione's mother sympathized, but thought that Hermione was blowing the situation out of proportion. To dispel the whining and distract her daughter, Jean had taken the her to a shopping area to finish the Christmas shopping. "Mum, the Weasleys have invited me to spend New Year's Eve with them and return to school from the Burrow," Hermione stated hoping her mother would say she could go.

"Your father and I were looking forward to your stay over the holiday since you had spent most of the summer with them in London," Jean said. "Let me talk to your father. Did you say you wouldn't be leaving until New Year's Eve?"

"Yes, Mum," Hermione answered. "We were trying to clean up Harry's godfather's home because he had been away for so long and it had been empty. We hardly made a dent in the work."

"I still say that they should have hired a cleaning service and it would have been done in no time." Jean inquired, "Doesn't Mr. Black have the money for that?"

"Not right now, Mum. His funds had been frozen due to a misunderstanding," Hermione added. "That's why everyone was pitching in." _"Little did you know that Sirius is an escaped and wanted convict that had been sent to prison for killing 13 people. All the time he had been framed," _she thought. She hated not telling her mother the entire story, but the truth in the wizard world was so often stranger than fiction.

They parked near a block of small mom-and-pop shops with specialty items, locked the car and set off arm-in-arm to complete their Christmas lists. The snow started to sprinkle down like powdered sugar onto the trees and awnings. The warm sidewalks and streets were merely wet now, but would freeze over in a short while. They went from shop to shop, returning occasionally to the car to lock packages in the boot. The last shop on the block was a toy shop. The merry-go-round in the window reminded Hermione of the toy shop in the 1970 musical "Scrooge". She loved that version and knew many of the songs, _"Thank you_ _very much" _was her favorite. She stood there with her nose pressed to the window like an excited child. Then she saw IT. IT was the perfect snow globe. Dancing with excitement she pointed it out to her mother. Her mother was surprised that it was not a large, gaudy one like Hermione always wanted. This was a small ornament that would go onto a Christmas tree. When they went into the shop they were disappointed to see a small "Sold" sign on shelf behind its window display.

Going home Hermione was nearly in tears from the disappointment. Jean pulled her husband aside when Hermione went up stairs to put the presents in the spare room for later wrapping. "David, could you please go back to the toy shop and see if there is another miniature snow globe ornament," Jean whispered. "Hermione's heart was set on that one and it had already been sold. The shop girl said that the buyer had agreed to have it remain in the window as part of the display until December 24th. See if they have another or know of another source. She was so broken hearted that it would not be hers."

When David Granger arrived at the toy store, he asked for the owner. A gray-haired, silver-eyed gentleman came out from the back room of the shop and asked, "What can I do for you?"

David explained about his daughter and the fact that she had been so disappointed when she could not purchase the snow globe.

The proprietor asked David to wait. He shuffled back into the rear portion of the store. Minutes later he came back with a small white box. He said, "This isn't exactly like the one in the window. In fact it is almost twice as expensive since this one has a music box in it and while it plays the merry-go-round turns." He carefully lifted it from the box and turned it over to wind it. Righting it, it began to play _"Thank you very much"_ from the musical.

"I'll buy it," stated Dave decisively. After paying for it he slipped it into his pocket.

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><p>Hermione took the chicken breast from the stovetop grill and diced it. She scattered it over the salad of mixed greens, scallions, mushrooms, grated carrots and red cabbage, green and red pepper, chopped tomato and homemade croutons. She sprinkled on raspberry vinegarette that she had made from her mother's recipe. The bright green with the red accents made a cheerful contrast to the white china plate.<p>

Sitting on the sofa she flicked off the CD player with a flick of her wand and another flick turned on the DVD player that she had set up to play "Scrooge". As the warning and trailers played she took the tissue paper from the ornament. A tiny snow globe about ten centimeters high was revealed. Hermione inverted the globe and wound it to play the music box. As the cheerful strains played the miniature merry-go-round turned. The horses, lions, tigers, bears, unicorns, panthers and zebras all were detailed to the nth degree. The enclosure said that they had been hand painted with oil paints using a single hair brush. The gold of the merry-go-round shone like a glimmering crown and was set with tiny jewels and porcelain oval miniatures around the top. The poles were silver and moved the animals up and down like the normal sized ride. The snow within the globe was mixed with glittery gold and silver confetti. It never failed to amaze her that her parents had gotten her such a wonderful gift for that 16th Christmas.

She carefully placed the ornament on her placemat and picked up the plate of salad and leaned back to watch her movie. About half way through the movie, just when the ghost of Christmas present was taking her to Fred's house, a text message alert rang through on her phone. _"Thought you might need this for your mantle. 3"_ was all it said. The doorbell rang. She knew the drill. Pausing the DVD she got up, went to the door and checked the peep-hole. She saw nothing, as she had expected. Opening the door she looked down at the doormat and found a beautiful holly and ivy spray with a bowl holding a single red column candle, a mulled wine candle, in the center of a dish of pinecones. There was a silver and gold lacy bow tied around the base of the candle with long tails to hang over the edge of the mantle. The parchment carefully placed in the arrangement was pure white with the familiar green calligraphy, _"The holly is a symbol of truth, and in truth I say that I care." _At the bottom in place of the signature was the holly leaves and green heart.

Hermione placed the arrangement in the center of the mantle and lit the candle and only when straightening the ribbon did she noticed where Ginny had attached the sprig of mistletoe. After lighting the candle she hung the ornament on the tree and went back to the sofa and with a wave of her wand restarted her movie. She picked up her mobile and sent a reply to the text, _"It is perfect. H."_ Leaning back on the sofa she enjoyed the mulled wine scent of the candle and took a sip of the wine from the glass.

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><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 8 prompt:<strong> Mulled Wine Candle


	10. Ch 9 Counted Cross-Stitch Creche

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns all the Harry Potter characters.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 9.<strong>

**Cross-Stitched Crèche, Eggsactly**

Being a dentist requires fine motor skills. Dr. David Granger evinced this in his hobby of painting and also carving beautiful scenes with his dental tools into egg shells—not the tools he used on patients of course. Dr. Jean Granger's hobbies were cooking and counted cross-stitch. Hermione had many examples of art for decoration in her home. She also had a few ornaments made by each. Today she had decided to put two of those examples on the tree. Hermione justified this divergence from her plan of one ornament per day to be allowed because they had the same theme, The Nativity. _"Besides, my tree, my rules," _she thought.

The first ornament she pulled from the tissue paper nest was the beautiful white egg. David Granger had carefully drawn the scene complete with the star on top of the crèche. On the front was the crèche with Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus in the manger. Coming from one side around the egg were three wise men with a camel and coming from the other were two shepherds and a lamb. Carefully he would blow the contents out of the egg and then clean it. After sketching the design in pencil and erasing and correcting the lines, David then inked the final lines. Finally he used a rotary tool and a dental drill to make the perforated eggs. When the scene was completed the space around it was decorated with a series of tile like empty spaces. This egg had ones reminiscent of four leaf clovers between pillars of white in order to provide structure. The last step in the creation of the masterpiece was to seal it to prevent it from yellowing over time. In early times this was accomplished by using thin lacquer, but it too would yellow. Now there were sprays that worked equally well on the eggs or the painted buildings of the Christmas village. A white satin ribbon had been inserted in the center top of the egg with a small white bow near the hole to mask the insertion and a tall loop provided a place for the ornament hanger.

Hermione picked an ornament hanger from the bowl and hooked one end to the loop. The other end of the hanger she put over a limb of the tree near the top. On the opposite side of the tree was a blue bubble light that shone through the perforations in the egg making a perfect background.

The second ornament she selected was also a nativity scene. This one was a counted cross-stitch ornament that Jean had made. The tiny stitches were decorating the 22 count Aida cloth meaning that there were 22 stitches to the inch. The sky of a dark navy blue with gold stars was above a crèche that was three shades of brown on the roof and another for the walls of the shed. A seated Mary and kneeling Joseph were on either side of the dark brown, straw filled manger where a tiny Jesus lay. Mary's and Joseph's robes were also shades of brown, but Mary wore the traditional bright blue veil on her head. The darkest brown made French knot eyes for the mother and father, but the bright blue of the veil was echoed in the baby's eyes. The detail of the thread in a single strand created an almost painted look. The cloth was enclosed in a gold picture frame with a glass to keep the embroidery clean and free of dust. At the top of the frame a gold ribbon was threaded through the loop of the frame and culminating with a loop of ribbon and a bow sitting on the frame. Hermione took another ornament hanger from the dish and attached it to the top of the loop before hanging the ornament on the tree.

Going into the kitchen to figure out what she would have for supper, Hermione thought about the invitation to Malfoy's for cocktails and snacks on Friday. _"Friday is tomorrow not a week away. Since the doings is after work I assume everyone will be in work attire, but maybe I should check. No, I will just surprise everyone."_ The train of thought made her switch direction and she headed towards her bedroom.

Hermione went to her closet and pulled out a black full skirt of shot silk taffeta from the closet. She would wear a black camisole top with the black skirt for work and then add a gold lace shirt for the get together. She would change her usual black work pumps for gold strappy sandals for the party. Her hair would be caught up into a pony tail for work and tied with a black bow which would be exchanged for a gold grosgrain ribbon. Hermione looked at the work to cocktail ensemble and was pleased with her selections. She carefully folded the gold portions and put them into a small black satin clutch, with her usual undetectable extension charm and placed it in her briefcase.

When her stomach rumbled and Hermione realized that she had not eaten yet. She hung the black skirt on the back of the bathroom door and laid the cami on the seat so that they would be ready for the morning. Then she went to the kitchen to fix something to eat.

"Hermione," a voice came from her floo, "are you busy?"

She went to the living room to answer the call. "Ron, how are you? No, I am not busy. Do you need something?"

"I am taking Lav to St. Mungo's. It seems as though the baby wants to come early." Then he asked, "Do you think you could meet the train from Hogwarts and bring Hugo over? It kill two birds with one spell. Hugo and his belongings will arrive at the same time and you can see the baby."

"So, you and Lav have decided to go all the way to birth before finding out what the baby's name will be?" she asked. Then she changed the train of thought, "Remember when he came last summer and we had to make, what was it, five or six trips back to claim his luggage."

"No, we decided we were not going to know until the baby was here. We have chosen names—Sue and either Joel or Cameron," Ron replied. "You made four trips and I made three, so that is seven. There are times I swear that he is so busy reading that he forgets there is a world around him."

"I hope you are planning on using Sue for a girl and Joel for a boy," Hermione chuckled. "Hugo gets totally involved in whatever he is doing—reading, Quidditch, chess, et cetera. He has amazing powers of concentration."

"Who ever heard of a boy named Sue? Of course it is for a girl and Joel or Cameron is for a boy."

"There is a song by Johnny Cash, 'A boy named Sue.' It is about a father that abandons his son after naming him Sue. The boy becomes a fighter and when he meets his father the father says he gave him the name so he would grow up tough," explained Hermione. "I think Cameron would work for either a boy or girl, but this isn't my call. What time is the train coming in? Three o'clock as usual?"

"Yes, three. Cameron was my choice." Then he finished the call, "Thanks, Hermione and we will see you Saturday afternoon."

As she made a cheese and ham omelet, Hermione thought about the floo call. _"The more I think about it, the more I am certain is that we only married because it was expected. We really are good friends now tied closer together by our children. If I were to guess, I would say that he has loved Lavender since sixth year. They do make a good couple, even though she irritates me. She is a perfect Quidditch Star Wife, where I never was good at that."_

Hermione sat at the kitchen table with a cup of black coffee, glass of orange juice, the omelet and toast with lime marmalade in front of her. When her parents had made this they called it 'breakfast for supper'. She picked up the mobile that had rung the song for an incoming text. _"Will be dreaming of you soon. 3" _Hermione finished the supper, washed the dishes and went to shower before bed.

Just before turning out the lamp, she picked up the mobile and reread the text. _"Good night and sweet dreams. H," _Hermione replied.

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><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 9 Prompt:<strong> The Nativity


	11. Ch 10 Silent Night, Holy Night

**Disclaimer: Hermione Granger is a figment of J.K. Rowling's wonderful imagination.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 10.<strong>

**Silent Night, Holy Night**

Hermione loved Christmas music. She collected Christmas music CDs. She had classical music CDs, rock music CDs, instrumental CDs, vocal CDs, new age CDs, country CDs, rap CDs, secular CDs, sacred CDs, contemporary CDs and traditional CDs. All of which were Christmas music. She also played the piano and had sheet music for every kind of Christmas music. Whenever there was a family gathering where there was a piano around the holidays they always asked Hermione to bring some music and play for carol singing. That is why she had the next bundle of ornaments. Inside were four tiny music books, each was a different Christmas carol. Not just the music, but the history of the song was included. Again she justified it by the new "all of one kind rule" that she made for the crèches.

She removed the tissue paper from each book and read the title. After reading she opened the tiny book and read the history.

"'Away in a Manger'_is a Christmas carol first published in the late nineteenth century and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. The two most-common musical settings are by William J. Kirkpatrick (1895) and James R. Murray (1887)."_*** **The words have been wrongly attributed to Martin Luther.

Hermione walked to the tree singing the familiar carol. When she finished she picked an ornament hanger from the dish of hangers, slipped it through the loop of the ribbon and hung it on the tree.

She stepped back to check where she would be hanging the next. Going back to the small bundle of books she unwrapped the second. _"Adeste fideles," _she read.

"'Adeste fideles' _is a Christmas carol which has been attributed to various authors, including John Frances Wade (1711 – 1786), with the earliest copies of the hymn all bearing his signature, John Reading (1645 – 1692) and King John IV of Portugal (1604 – 1656). _

_The original four verses of the hymn were extended to a total of eight, and these have been translated into many languages. The English translation of_ 'O Come, All Ye Faithful' _by the English Catholic priest Frederick Oakeley, written in 1841, is widespread in most English speaking countries."_*****

In her clear soprano voice she sang the first verse in both English and the original Latin as she moved to the tree. She picked a couple of ornament hangers from the dish, slipped one through the loop of ribbon on the miniature book and hung it on the tree. It was on the opposite side from the first and slightly lower.

When Hermione returned to her seat she studied the tableau. Carefully she unwrapped the third book and smiled for _"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" _was one of her favorites.

"'O come, O come, Emmanuel'_ is a Christian hymn for the Advent. While it is most commonly known by that English title, it is in fact a translation of the original Latin, '_Veni, Veni, Emmanuel'_; translations into other modern languages (particularly German) are also in widespread use. The 1861 translation from _'Hymns Ancient and Modern'_ is the most prominent by far in the English-speaking world, but other English translations also exist._

_The hymn is a metrical paraphrase of the 'O Antiphons', a series of plainchant antiphons attached to the Magnificat at Vespers over the final days before Christmas." _*****

Again Hermione sang the Latin and English versions of the first verse of the song before slipping the ornament hanger through the ribbon loop and hanging it on the tree.

The last volume she unwrapped was so beautiful. Like the others the single colored illustrations that accompanied the text and the music were carefully printed from old wood block prints. Hermione read the words written inside.

"'Silent Night, Holy Night' _There is a legend associated with the carol that says, Fr. Mohr wanted the carol to be sung by the children of the village at the midnight Christmas Eve service, as a surprise for their parents. But in the middle of practising, the organ broke and not a note would come from it! So the children had to learn the carol only accompanied by a guitar. They learnt the carol so well that they could sing it on its own without accompaniment._

_It was translated into English in 1863 by John Freeman Young. The carol was sung during the Christmas Truce in the First World War in December 1914 as it was a song that soldiers on both sides knew!" *****_

The story of the joint singing of the carol had been a comforting thought when she had been with Harry in Godric's Hollow on Christmas Eve in 1997. It had been so peaceful walking through the cemetery looking for his parent's grave. The sounds of the hymns rang clear as a bell from the little church. It was too bad that the peaceful night had been so rudely interrupted by the visit to Bathilda Bagshot, or Voldemort's snake as so it seems.

She sang all verses of the familiar carol in both English and German before hanging it on the tree near the just below the "crèche egg". She stood back to admire the effect for a moment before turning to go to her room. Hermione had work and a cocktail party at Malfoy's to dress for.

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><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 10 prompt: <strong>Silent Night

Also dialogue including the history of the carol.

*****Wikipedia


	12. Ch 11 My Joy, My Boy

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the whole wonderful Harry Potter world and its enchanting populous.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 11.<strong>

**My Joy, My Boy**

Two years after Rose had been born, Hermione and Ron had a son, Hugo Gideon Weasley. Hugo was named for two uncles, one on each side of the family. He like Rose had the brilliant red Weasley hair. His eyes were blue like Ron's. In fact, if Hermione had not carried him for nine months and given birth, she would be hard pressed to say he was her son. He was 100% Ronald Weasley in miniature. Hugo was a Beater for Gryffindor's Quidditch team at Hogwarts and an excellent chess player. Ron and Hermione often joked that the only things that Hugo inherited from his mother was a love of reading and her obsession with being on time. He did not like doing homework or studying, but other than Ravenclaws what teenage boys did?

Hermione was sitting cross-legged on the floor peering into the box of ornaments looking for the perfect one. "Aha!" she said with glee. She had found the partner to the picture of Rose that she had placed on the tree. Where Rose's was in a heart shaped frame Hugo's was a rectangle. Rose's frame had roses around the boarder. Hugo's frame had a Quidditch theme of broomsticks, quaffles, snitches and bludgers. On the bottom of the frame it said _"First Christmas". _Etched on the back was _"Hugo Gideon Weasley, born November 11, 2008". _The picture of a one month old Hugo lying on a white blanket with a symbol of Gryffindor House in one corner and red and gold fringe around the edges. He was wearing a red and gold knit sweater and black pants. Gold booties were on his feet. His grandmother Molly Weasley had knit the sweater and booties.

When the kettle whistled Hermione stood up and placed the frame on the end table. She went into the kitchen and turned the kettle off, poured the warming water out of the teapot, added the Earl Grey tea and poured the water over the tea leaves. She sniffed the aroma of the dark tea with orange hints. Her supper of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich were already on the tray when she added the teapot. As she carried the tray to the living room she thought, _"I really do need to start eating supper at the table." _She put the tray down and added to the thought, _"But I don't want to."_

She flipped on the DVD player to start "It's a Wonderful Life." She watched as Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed danced on the pool cover and fell into the swimming pool, and then when he escorted her home they sang "Buffalo Gals". There was the car crash, the snowball fight, the snowman and the old house. Suza's petal that were there and gone. Last were the friends that came through with donations. All of the people he had helped stepped up and helped him. The message of the story was that if you had never existed, so many things in the world would be changed because of a ripple effect. It was a powerful message and one Hermione had remembered when she was discouraged.

Tomato soup and grilled cheese was one of Hermione's favorite meals. It was comfort food from her childhood. Whenever she was sick or upset or her mother just wanted to coddle her, Jean would make tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Hermione called love in a bowl with a hug on the side. Tonight was the perfect day for some comfort food. Work had been one boring meeting after another. She liked to called it meetings for meetings' sake. Sometimes she thought some people liked to call meetings just to mess with her. In Hermione's opinion, unless you had a purpose and an agenda meetings were just to keep her from doing the work that needed to be finished.

She remembered the discussion she had earlier in the week with Draco and Harry and wondered what would be discussed at Friday's lunch at Hogwarts. The memo from Headmistress McGonagall had been carefully vague, but promising—an oxymoron if there ever was one. She had presented to the spring meeting of the Board of Governors of Hogwarts and Headmistress McGonagall and Deputy Headmaster Flitwick an outline for vocational training for witches and wizards that did not want to apprentice to teach of other specific professions like potions masters or go to work for the Ministry of Magic. The plan would create a "community college" style of education beyond the seventh year at Hogwarts. Hogwarts did not address clerical workers either so that when they went straight to work for the Ministry some had to learn to do the job from knowing nothing about working in an office. Many were stuck in the lower level positions because they were given inadequate training. Other areas of education included muggle classes such as accounting, mechanical training—carriages didn't fix themselves once they had reached a certain point, and chemistry. This last one had met with sneers from some potions masters, but when Hermione explained what was involved and the fact that chemistry explained why things worked in potions retired Professor Snape endorsed the idea. He later revealed to Hermione that he had attended university during his gap year and taken mathematics, chemistry and Latin, a fact that few knew.

She looked at the picture of baby Hugo again and touched his bright red hair. He had been such a good baby. He was the reason that she had presented the idea to the Board and School. Hugo was totally at loose ends and really hadn't a clue what he would be doing at the end of his seventh year. Ron had wanted to be an Auror with Harry, but found the class work more than he wanted. When he had been asked to try out for the position of keeper for the Chudley Cannons, he jumped at the chance and had done well. They had actually had winning seasons for the past 10 years. Now Ron was going to retire and coach. Hugo didn't want to be a Teacher, an Auror, a Quidditch player, a Ministry worker or shopkeeper with Fred and George. That left a whole lot of jobs, didn't it? Hence there was a need for vocational training.

Hermione arose and scrubbed a spot of tarnish from the edge of the frame and one off the back, then put it on the Christmas tree. She sat back down on the sofa and curled her legs under her. She pulled an afghan over her lap. She lay her head on the back of the sofa and fell asleep as the credits played on the movie. As it switched off a figure slipped in through the floo. It crept silently to the sofa and placed a small box in the sleeping witch's lap. A light kiss was pressed on her brow and then the figure slipped away through the floo.

When Hermione awoke a short while later, there was a small box on her lap. She shook her head to reawaken any memories that might be buried there. She felt her brow and wondered if the kiss had been real. After removing the silver bow from the turquoise colored box. Hermione lifted the lid to reveal a bracelet of matched the pearls with three carved leaves of green jade. The parchment in the box, again written in the beautiful green calligraphy read, _"For you to wear to_ _the Malfoy's New Years Eve Ball."_

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><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 11 prompt: <strong>Snowman


	13. Ch 12 Twelve Days of Christmas

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter characters. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12.<strong>

**Twelve Days of Christmas**

Traditionally the Twelve Days of Christmas in Christendom are celebrated from December 25 through January 5 or Twelfth Night. Small gifts or coins are sometimes given on each of the Twelve Days of Christmas. The first Sunday after this is Epiphany. This is when traditionally the Wise Men or the Magi arrived. Hermione's mother was a traditionalist in some ways. The Christmas tree always had to remain up throughout the Twelve Days of Christmas. It was taken down on the Monday after Epiphany and the ornaments carefully packed away until the day after Thanksgiving in America.

Hermione was listening to the Twelve Days of Christmas Carol and wondered at strange gifts and how they weren't even pertinent to everyday life in the 21st century. She then remembered the words they had sung in the Gryffindor Common Room.

"_On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a unicorn in the Forbid'n Forest."_

"_On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, two Weasleys pranking."_

"_On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me, three wands a-jinxing."_

"_On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, four ghosts a-haunting."_

"_On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, five boiling cauldrons."_

"_On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, six snakes a-Slytherin."_

"_On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, seven hidden pass'ges."_

"_On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, eight Ravens clawing."_

"_On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, nine spells a-casting."_

"_On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, ten Gryffin doors."_

"_On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, eleven Quidditch players."_

"_On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, twelve golden snitches."_

She laughed at how she had said that the "seven hidden pass'ges" didn't fit the metre of the song, but Harry insisted that they had to pay homage to the fact that there were seven. She personally felt proud of the "six snakes a-Slytherin" pun that she had contributed.

Hermione thought back to the invitation to the cocktail party at Draco's after work. She looked forward to it and carefully had planned the outfit that she would wear. To work she would wear the swirly black skirt and black cami with a sheer black shirt over it. For work there were black ballerina flats with a black velvet bow on the toes. She went though her underwear drawer and found the new lacy bra, knickers, and garter belt set that matched the cami. Picking a new package of sheer black stockings she completed the ensemble. When she went in to shower she laughed at the fact that she could be a night stalker at work dressed all in black. Good thing for Hermione her work robes were green with silver frogs that closed them. She let out a chuckle at the irony. Drying herself quickly left time to just towel-dry her hair before braiding it. This would tame the tight curls and make it wavy when it had dried and she combed it out just before the party.

Dressed for work, Hermione picked up her black cocktail clutch, the gold lace blouse and the gold strappy sandals she would slip on after arriving at Draco's. She put all of these into her briefcase. She selected her new black wool cloak with a curly, black lambs-wool lining that just went over the end of the cuffs and around the neck and down the front. The form fitting top above the wide bias-cut band at the waist, the flaring bottom that went to the floor and the double breasted closure with silver medallion buttons were reminiscent of the coat Lara wore in the film "Dr. Zhivago". It made Hermione fell in love with it and felt beautiful when she first put it on in Twilfit & Tattings last week. She had even purchased black gloves and a matching black hat and muff. _"Oh, Merlin, I am becoming a Slytherin," _Hermione thought as she stepped into the fireplace and dropped the floo powder. "Ministry of Magic, Education Liaison Office."

She stepped out still singing, "…my true love gave to me, six snakes a-Slytherin, five boil-ing caul-drons, four ghosts a-haunting."

She broke off as she heard someone continue, "Three wands a jinxing." Then picked up the duet, "Two Weasleys pranking, and a unicorn in the Forbid'n Forest." Laughing she hugged Harry, who was also laughing so hard he was crying. "You remembered, Hermione." He snorted as he tried to stop laughing, "You remembered. Do you still know all the words?"

"Don't let me interrupt," drawled the person sitting in her office chair. His feet were up on the desk and he was sipping a cup of coffee, a jelly doughnut was in the other hand. One more was on the desk and next to it was a brown paper bag. Indicating it with a nod, he said, "Didn't know you would be here Harry, or I would have brought another."

"Morning, Draco," said Hermione as she slipped off the gloves and muff and put them on the shelf above the coat rack. Unbuttoning the coat, she shrugged it off and hung it up. "Up," she ordered, "that's my chair." Picking up the briefcase she walked behind the desk.

"But, I brought coffee and doughnuts," he whined. "Doesn't that earn a seat in the big chair?"

"If we were in your office, you could have the big chair." Hermione took the seat behind her desk as Draco vacated it. He walked slowly around the desk, but not before he caught a glimpse of black silk-clad thigh as Hermione sat down and her skirt rode up slightly. Hermione watched Draco as he sauntered around the desk. He was dressed in a charcoal gray suit, a light green silk shirt and green tie of a slightly darker hue than the shirt. When he sat she could see his matching green socks between the pant legs and the black loafers he wore. She had followed his arse with pleasure in her eyes as he glided across the floor. _"I can hardly wait until the party after work," _they thought in unison.

"So, six snakes a-Slytherin?" he asked. "Hermione, did you know you have a black furry animal on your head?"

Harry answered the first question, "Back in the Common Room at Hogwarts we rewrote that and other carols when we were stuck inside that year Umbridge was in charge. The alliteration and pun for six was the creation of none other than—ta-dah!" Harry gestured toward the other Gryffindor in the room.

Hermione removed the hat and pushed it into her desk drawer. After blowing on a spoonful of coffee to cool it she sipped if from the spoon. "What brings the two of you this morning?" she asked the men.

"We're looking for a cat burglar. Too bad you have a skirt on instead of pants, or Harry would have to run you in," Draco quipped.

"The Board of Governors and the Administrative Staff of Hogwarts will be meeting in fifteen minutes at Hogwarts, so shoo," Hermione said. "I have an agenda to look over so Janice can copy it before then. See you both in ten. Headmistress McGonagall has left the floo in the Staff Lounge open because that is where we will meet."

The five remaining members of the Board of Governors of Education (formerly known as the Board of Governors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry), the Matron of the Lupin Magical Orphanage, the two Administrators of Albus Dumbledore Memorial Primary School and the two Administrators of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry flooed into the Staff Lounge. Already seated at the table were the Ministry of Magic Liaison, the Assistant to the Liaison and the other two members of the Board, Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter. Janice Jones had copied Hermione's agenda and put a copy on the table in front of each chair.

As Liaison, Hermione acted as chair of the meeting. Andromeda Tonks, Director of the Board agreed with Headmistress Minerva McGonagall that there was a niche not being met. Even those representing the younger students felt that there should be vocational education and that the younger children could look forward to those new options. It was decided to offer classes in business, accounting and cross-technology. Harry suggested that the students also be offered a class in driver's education so that the students could straddle the magic/muggle boundary more easily. Draco suggested that they look at early childhood education for tenders of magical children at daycare centres while their parents were at work.

Due to Hermione's efficiency and carefully researched findings, the meeting was unusually short. The group agreed to meet again in the new year. Hermione had requested for lunch to be served during the last half hour of the meeting, but since the meeting finished the attendees had time to visit and network before lunch and during the meal the elves provided.

Hermione slipped out and went back to her office in order to complete the report on the meeting and start the research for beginning the new classes in the fall. Plans needed to be made, facilities found and arrangements for appropriate instructors fixed. Then she went to King's Cross Station to pick up Hugo at three o'clock.

At five o'clock, Janice stuck her head in Hermione's office. "I'm heading out. Don't forget you have a party to attend in an hour. See you there."

Exactly fifty minutes later, Hermione appeared in the apparition point outside Draco's flat. She quickly made her way the half block to the building entrance and after buzzing at the door, an elf appeared to escort her up. Obviously, in the spirit of Christmas Draco had allowed his elves to choose their own "festive" garments. This elf was clad in hot pink and lime green striped tights and had on a hot pink sweater with a lime green decorated tree. The hat atop the elf's head was a green tea cosy with her ears sticking out the handle and spout slots. "Mimsy is to bring in guests, Miss Hermione," she was greeted.

"Aren't you a bit warm in your lovely outfit?" Hermione asked.

"No, I has a cooling charm. Can Mimsy take your cloak?"

"Thank you, Mimsy." Hermione took off her cloak and put the gloves, muff and hat inside a pocket that had been properly extended.

Draco greeted her with a champagne flute full of the bubbly liquor and a kiss on her cheek. "You look lovely, Hermione," he whispered in her ear. His eyes swept from the mahogany waves of her hair past the gold lace of the shirt with the black cami peeking through, to the swirl of the full skirt hiding that black silk-clad thigh he had seen earlier in the day and on to the silky black stockinged legs. Then he grinned when he saw a hint of gold polish on her toes peeking through the black stockings in encased in glittery gold strappy sandals with three inch heels. The heels were not so high that walking was hard for the wearer, but high enough to be interesting to the observer.

"Oh, Drakey," purred the voice of a newcomer to the party. Pansy threw herself into Draco causing him to lose his balance and pour the champagne all over Hermione. "O-o-p-s-y, did I do that?" asked a very drunk Pansy in a mock apology. Blaise came to pull the drunken witch away but she seemed to be velcroed to the front of the blond wizard, though his arms were still raised as they were when he tried to avoid the spill seconds earlier.

"Mimsy," called Hermione, "will you please bring me my cloak. I seem to have forgotten another engagement." With that she left the party as quickly as she came.

Entering her own flat, Hermione did a very un-Hermione-like thing. She kicked off her shoes, threw her cloak on the sofa, ran down the hall to the bedroom, and stripped leaving her clothes in a heap near the closet. She stepped into the shower and turned it to hot and she cried. Hermione cried because she embarrassed herself by flirting with Draco and thinking there was something there. Hermione cried because Pansy had spoiled her outfit. Hermione cried because she was tired of being just Hermione. When the water ran cold, she stepped out and toweled off. Her eyes were puffy and red but the cry had been cathartic. She put on a Gryffindor Quidditch jersey that had been Harry's and clean white granny knickers and climbed into her bed. The minute Hermione's head hit the pillow she was asleep.

Hermione did not see the shadowy figure step through her floo. Looking around the semi-dark flat her cloak was spotted on the sofa and the shoes were near the entry. With a flick of his wand they were put away in the cloak closet. Then he went into her bedroom to check on her. She stirred when a gentle hand pushed her hair from her brow and pressed a kiss to her brow. Then with a snap of his fingers her clothes were hung or whooshed to the hamper. A box was left on her night stand near her wand and inside the box was a Christmas ornament made up of six green and silver snakes. The enclosed note this time only had the green leaf and heart signature, but this time there were three red berries by the leaves.

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><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 12 prompt:<strong> The Twelve Days of Christmas (song or history)

**A/N: **I wrote the Gryffindor version of the Twelve Days of Christmas with a nod to Matt and Lyle.


	14. Ch 13 Red Radio Flyer Wagon

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the characters in this story. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13.<strong>

**Red Radio Flyer Wagon**

A red Radio Flyer Wagon is an American toy wagon that was named to commemorate two important men Marconi and Lindberg. It is a strong steel wagon and though it has its roots in the early 20th century, it still continues to be popular. It is so popular in fact that they have made their way around the world. In one form they are tiny wagons filled with boxes to hang on a tree at Christmas time as ornaments. Hermione Granger was the owner of one such ornament. Or, at least she had become the owner of one.

The new ornament had appeared on her desk at work. Hermione had no clue where it had come from or who had given it to her. Throughout the month of December she had been receiving wonderful appropriate gifts daily. Ones that related to the decorating of the Christmas tree were special and the ones for the house had been perfect additions to her festive tableau. All the gifts had arrived at her home. This one was different. It had come in the bright day light. It had come to a public office. It had come while Hermione was in a meeting. People had seen it as they passed by. People had seen it when they brought in reports. People had seen it when they had left things on her desk. When Hermione returned to her office there it sat, unwrapped, centered perfectly on her desk calendar. There was a clean sheet of parchment under it. Well, it was clean except for the neat calligraphy in green on one side reading, _"When you put your hopes, dreams, and tomorrows wrapped neatly in boxes, you will need some way to take them with you. For you I wish all your hopes and dreams come true and the tomorrows bring you joy and happiness always." _Again it was signed with a green sprig of holly leaves and a green heart. This time the holly leaves were accompanied by three red berries. Everyone who had come into the office had been able to read it.

There were two things that Hermione really hated. The first was the yellow journalism of the _Daily Prophet_. The second was the office gossip. Both had put Hermione on display and made her the object of ridicule many times in the past. The worst was when she and Ron had divorced. The problem is that there really was no story. They decided that they were ill matched and were going in different directions. Hermione loved her job with the ministry whereas Ron was a powerful, famous Quidditch player and proud of it. They had divided the property without animosity, the children were to spend equal time with each of them. When there is no kindling and no flame, the paparazzi and office grape vines can build a blazing inferno of lies and innuendos. Today the gossip became a volcano of epic proportions and everyone was buzzing about Ms. Granger's gift. They did not know that she didn't know who the giver was nor about the previous gifts, but by the time the evening edition of the _Daily Prophet_ came out the whole world knew that Hermione Granger, ex-wife of the famous Quidditch player and member of the Golden Trio, was being courted.

Harry Potter knew that Hermione would be upset the minute he heard the gossip. Draco Malfoy was certain that there would be hexing and excitement in the Education Liaison Office today. Janice, Hermione's administrative assistant, was blocking the door and sending everyone off with the message that Ms. Granger was on an important floo call and could not be interrupted. When Harry and Draco arrived they assured Janice that they could calm her down. Reluctantly they were let in to the chaos of spells and hexes flying and meeting one another creating red, green, blue, yellow and white sparks. The sheer magnificence of the magic was breathtaking. The wondrous part was not a paper, not a picture, not a hair on her head, not a single thing was being touched only the spells bouncing off one another. Janice, Harry and Draco stood in the doorway in awe at the controlled power of her magic. Finally an exhausted Hermione settled into her chair and the magic cleared the air.

"Why can't they just leave me alone?" she asked in desperation to no one in particular. Hermione had not seen the trio in the doorway and did not expect an answer.

"Because you are Hermione Granger, brightest witch of her generation, the Ministry's Education Liaison, the ex-wife of Ronald Weasley, Quidditch player extraordinaire, mother of Rose Weasley who just married Scorpius Malfoy and you never do anything interesting," said Harry.

"He's right you know," said Draco. "When there is nothing to talk about, it must be invented for the amusement of those who have nothing of worth or purpose in their lives." Then he added, "No matter what they say, you are better than they are. Hell that was the most magnificent piece of magic I have ever seen. Are you sure you aren't an Unspeakable?"

Hermione laughed at the last comment. Draco, in spite of how infuriating he was, was truly one who could lighten a mood. "So, my protectors three, Janice, Draco, and Harry, what shall we do for the rest of the day that could make more tongues wag?"

"You could take the afternoon off, go to the Leaky Cauldron and get pissed, and dance naked on the tables," Harry suggested.

"Or, you could sit in your office, work, go to meetings and pretend that nothing happened," added Janice.

"Or, you could take the afternoon off, go out for a massage, see the hair dresser and have a mani/pedi, then do some serious retail therapy," said Draco. "What?" he asked at the strange looks on the faces of the three companions. "Mother always says it makes everything better."

"I hate to go do that alone," admitted Hermione.

"Janice can go with you and so could Ginny." Harry offered, "Let me call her."

"But, who will take care of the office?" Hermione asked. "We cannot just close it."

"Why ever not?" came a booming voice from just outside the office. Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister of Magic, was standing there. "You, Ms. Granger, and Mrs. Jones can just lock the door and let the owls leave the messages with reception. You can pick them up tomorrow. Mr. Potter, weren't you going to have your beautiful wife meet these lovely ladies?" After Harry went to the floo to call Ginny, Kingsley continued, "Mr. Malfoy, don't you have the name of the day spa your mother uses?"

"Better yet," Draco answered, "I will make reservations for three."

"Ahem," Hermione cleared her throat, "Janice and I are standing here while you are talking about us and we haven't agreed to go."

"Speak for yourself, Ms. Granger."

* * *

><p>Thirty minutes later Mrs. Potter, Mrs. Jones and Ms. Granger were lying face down on massage tables with a miniature wagon on a table in front of them, complete with the underlying parchment. "Who would be giving you all these gifts?" asked Ginny.<p>

"I haven't a clue." Hermione continued, "It was a complete surprise when the first arrived. I was so careful running diagnostics and checking for spells with it. By the time the third arrived, I had become complacent. When someone left one on my bedside table while I slept, I was worried again and had Harry check my wards. They are still strong and only family and friends are allowed in. I had him put another layer that would sound an alarm when compromised, but still allow family and friends to enter."

Janice mused, "I know there was only one five minute period when I was not at my desk when you weren't in the office, Hermione. You were at your ten o'clock meeting and I needed to go to the loo." She thought a couple of seconds more, "I don't think it was there when I got back."

"All I can say," Ginny put in, "is that it made a wonderful excuse to visit the spa. Where are we going shopping later?"

The ladies sat with their feet soaking in the warm water while their fingernails were being carefully sculpted and painted. The wagon display was on a tray on Hermione's lap in the middle of the group. Before the manicurist could stop her, Hermione reached out with one index finger and touched the lid of one of the small boxes. "Don't touch that, you are still wet."

"It's too late, but I didn't smear," she stated. "The lids to the boxes are loose." Carefully she removed one lid using only the pads of her fingers. Inside there was a charm in the shape of the letter H and had diamond chips sparkling on its face. The charm could be added to either a necklace or bracelet. "Oh, Merlin, did you see this?" Hermione asked.

"Holy all that is sacred!" exclaimed Janice.

"That is serious bling," added Ginny. "Are all those boxes like that? You know, Hermione, with the removable lids."

"Only three have removable lids, the other two are just for looks."

The second box she opened held a diamond encrusted G. "Oh, goody, goody, one for me," said Ginny as Hermione rolled her eyes.

And Janice teased as the third box held a similar J, "Are you sharing?"

"I could, but I have this pearl bracelet that I can add these charms to for the New Year's Eve Ball at Malfoy Manor. Sorry, no I am not sharing."

"Speaking of the Ball," said Ginny, "have you gotten your gown yet?"

"No," said Janice and Hermione in unison. "I was so surprised to be invited," added Janice. "Why would I be invited to the famous or infamous Malfoy New Year's Eve Ball?"

"I don't know except that Draco seems to like you and thinks you work too hard," answered Hermione.

Store after store saw the trio of ladies on a mission. At the third shop Janice found a navy blue one shoulder straight gown with slit half way up the thigh. The matching robe lined with white fur, perfect for winter evening wear. She offset it with silver pumps and clutch, a silver belt and three-quarter length silver gloves. "I have the perfect clips for my hair when I wear it up!" exclaimed Janice.

Ginny's dress was gold lame and fell loosely, yet clinging from a band around her neck. There were no sleeves, but the coordinating robe was lined with the perfect shade of red that did not clash with her hair. It enhanced it in fact for there were blue undertones to the red. Her red platforms, clutch and gloves matched the lining of the robe. She said that she would wear the large ruby pendant that Harry had gotten her last Christmas. He had also gotten a matching bracelet and drop earrings for her birthday to complete the ensemble.

Hermione was disappointed that she had not found a dress, but went home happy and relaxed. She hung the ornament on the tree after magically sealing the boxes. She placed the charms in a crystal dish in front of the tree. Then she went to her room. After changing into her sleepwear, she placed her wand on the bed table and picked up her mobile. _"Thank you and sweet dreams! H!"_

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><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 13 prompt:<strong> Decorating the Christmas Tree


	15. Ch 14 Life is a Dish of Assessories

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns these wonderful people. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 14.<strong>

**Life is a Dish of Assessories**

"Eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, milk, a pie pumpkin," wrote Hermione as she began her lists of ingredients for Christmas baking. She stopped and took a sip from her coffee. Once she had finished the list she would go through the cupboard and mark off all that she had sufficient quantities to complete the baking and prepare a meal. Hermione knew she didn't have to cook because she had been invited to Arthur and Molly's as well as Lucius and Narcissa's for Christmas dinner. She enjoyed cooking and remembering the years of preparations with her mother and grandmothers. Best of all she liked the leftovers.

"Flour, granulated sugar, butter, heavy cream, molasses, ginger. What else is needed for baking?" She paused again and bit the end of her ballpoint pen. _"Stop that, it is a bad habit," _she mentally reproached herself. She needed to get the shopping done before Rose came over to bake. They had decided to continue the tradition with baking cookies, pies, and breads and making candy, then they would include them with Christmas gifts.

"Corn syrup, cheese, cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce, almond extract, peppermint extract," Hermione continued the list. _"It's a marshmallow world in the winter…"_ Hermione hummed the next line of the song. She added to the list, "Gelatin, bread, sage, celery, onion, potatoes, yams, pineapple."

Hermione picked up her mobile and texted Rose, "When are you coming over?"

"idk," Rose replied after a minute. "u red e?"

Hermione shook her head and muttered to herself, _"You pay for an education and what do you get? idk. They can't even use capital letters."_ She answered, "I need to go to the store first. Is an hour fine with you?"

"k"

Hermione grabbed her parka from the closet and slipped on a pair of snow boots. Popping ear muffs over her ears she remembered how Neville had fainted in second year Herbology when he hadn't gotten them on tight enough. Repotting the mandrakes had not been so bad and eventually they served their purpose. She pulled the zipper on the parka then snapped it closed to cover the zipper. She pulled knit mittens, a gift from Molly last year, and covered her hands. When she and Ron divorced she had become a second degree Weasley, she had been demoted from Christmas jumper to hat and mittens. If she were a third degree Weasley, probably what Draco had been elevated to, you got a scarf. Molly had her pecking order. If there had been no children involved she would have gotten either dish cloths or pot holders.

As Hermione entered the market she took a trolley and began moving efficiently up and down the aisles. She stopped here or there to compare prices and drop items into the cart. "GM, sez u do assessories 4 dnr," was the message from Rose.

"_Damn," _thought Hermione, _"Molly still doesn't trust me to cook something. I had hoped that I would get promoted to cooking the Christmas turkey someday." _Ginny had gotten promoted from sweet potatoes to turkey last year. Molly retained the roast and Yorkshire pudding and would until she died. Now Hermione had been demoted to "assessories". Teddy had coined that word for the crudites and relish trays. She backtracked to the produce section and picked up green beans, pea pods, mushrooms, baby carrots, more celery, green onions, radishes—red and white, and bell peppers in red, yellow, orange and green. _"Those will stay fresh with a stasis charm until Christmas," _Hermione thought. _"Merlin, but I love magic."_

"Sweet gherkins, baby dills, medium black seedless olives, green olives with pimento stuffing, and a jar of spicy peppers, cauliflower, onion and carrot all pickled together," counted Hermione as she added the food to the shopping trolley.

As she opened the door, she had another text from Rose, "not comn. stuf cm up. latr." She hung up her coat and took off the boots before she texted back, "Okay. Call me."

Disappointed, Hermione began to store the groceries. _"I am just going to cook my own Christmas turkey_ _this year,"_ she thought.

Her mind went to the box of ornaments and her decision for today's ornament had been made. She removed the tissue paper from a green blown glass pickle. She was going to put the "assessory" on the tree.

As she stirred the batter for the loaves of banana bread Hermione went over one of the stories about the Christmas pickle in her mind. Many of the stories were apocryphal but had a touch of the truth. She liked the one about the soldier that had been kept alive during the American Civil War because a guard had given him a pickle. Tradition had it that the pickle was hidden and the first person to find the pickle would have good luck for the next year. Santa also gave them an extra special gift for finding it first.

The bread went into the oven and Hermione poured herself a glass of eggnog. Baking cookies with Rose would wait.

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><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 14 prompt:<strong> Christmas turkey


	16. Ch 15 Legend of the Christmas Spider

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the characters in this story.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 15.<strong>

**The Legend of the Christmas Spider**

That Ronald Weasley was deathly afraid of spiders was well known. In fact it was as near a phobia as a wizard could get. The first Christmas Hermione and Ron were married. She had carefully unwrapped the large black rubber spider. It was a magnificent specimen and looked a lot like a tarantula. When Ron noticed it on the tree he had sent a curse into the tree to kill the spider and burned the whole tree. "_Luckily_," Hermione thought later when she was no longer angry with him, _"the rest of the ornaments had not been put on the tree or I would have none left."_

"_How could you 'Mione?" Ron yelled. "You know I hate spiders!"_

"_It was rubber, you dolt! You burnt down the tree! Someone could have been hurt! What if I was standing there hanging ornaments? I could have been burned as well."_

"_But it was a spider 'Mione. I hate spiders more than anything."_

"_Ronald Bilius Weasley you need to think before you burn things down no matter how much you hate spiders. Tarantulas aren't indigenous to London."_

_He never apologized and she never forgot. She forgave him because of his fear, but she never forgot his carelessness could have harmed her._

When Hermione was a small child she had received a huge spider as a Halloween prank from a cousin. She played with the rubber arachnid all the time. When she saw this once while visiting during the days leading up to Christmas, Grandmother White had asked if Hermione had ever heard the Legend of the Christmas Spider.

"No," said Hermione matter-of-factly, "spiders are for Halloween."

"Oh, Hermione, dear hasn't your mother ever told you the story?" Grandmother asked. "I used to read it to her every year."

"Will you read it to me, Grandmother?"

"Better, Hermione," she said. "I will bring the book over next time I come and we will read the story. For now, let's hang the spider on the tree."

The small brown haired girl and the tall gray haired woman stretched the rubber band loop and slid it over a limb on the tree.

The next time her grandmother came over carrying a white cloth package tied in blue ribbon. She opened it and took out a book covered in baby blue, ribbed silk with a white title rectangle of silk with the title printed on it in gold centered on the front cover. "Children's Favorite Folk Tales" it said. It was the most beautiful book Hermione has seen. Grandmother White told her to wash her hands and then they would read the book together. She explained to Hermione that some books were very special and that needed to be handled with care. Your hands should always be clean and sometimes white gloves worn to protect them from the oils on fingers. Bookmarks should always be flat and no thicker than paper or fine linen and always acid free. Food should never be eaten nor beverages drunk around the special books.

They sat down on the love seat and Grandmother began to read, _"A long time ago in a country far, far away there was a prosperous merchant. He lived in a beautiful mansion with his lovely wife, their four children, the housekeeper, the upstairs maid, the downstairs maid, the cook, the scullery maid, the nanny, the butler and two footmen._

_The month before Christmas it was the task of the nanny to keep the children at their studies or at play in the yard. It was the time when the cook and the scullery maid were baking for the feast of the Christ Child on Christmas. The butler and the footmen were polishing the silver until it shone, washing the china and glassware until it glowed. The housekeeper, the upstairs maid and the downstairs maid were beating the rugs, polishing the wood, and dusting the chandeliers. They washed the linens and hung them out in the crisp winter sun to bleach as white as the snow. Finally the mansion was ready. _

_The week before Christmas the staff decorated the house from top to bottom. There were garlands on the mantles and wreaths on the doors. There were sprays of greenery on the window sills with a single candle on each. The tree was put up in the parlor and decorated on Christmas Eve after the children had gone to bed and the master and mistress had gone to church. Stockings were hung on the mantle of the parlor fireplace. Then the doors to the parlor were sealed tight so that no one could see the tree until the Christ Child had come._

_Now there were spiders in the mansion that neither the family nor staff were aware of. The littlest spider wanted to see the Christmas tree so the mother spider took her family to the parlor. Spiders being small did not have to worry about locked doors, but walked right under it. The light from the candles in the window cast a warm glow. These candles were to light the way for the Christ Child to the house so that the family might be blessed for welcoming him in. The balls and bells on the tree twinkled in the candle light. The spider family climbed up the tree and all over the branches. They climbed over the toy soldiers, over the shining trumpet, over the red bird, over the balls and bells and over the angel on top of the tree. Every where they walked they left a trail of spider silk. The entire tree was covered with the web material. When the Christ Child came to the house and opened the doors to the parlor he was greeted with the sight of the Christmas tree beautifully decorated and covered from the top of the angel's crown to the base of the tree with spider silk. He smiled and was glad that the tiniest of his creatures had also enjoyed the sight. Before he left the room he blessed the house and the tree. He blessed the spiders and the web covered tree. The spider silk turned gold and silver._

_In the morning when the family came down to behold the tree and see that the Christ Child had been there, they were amazed by the sight of the spun gold and silver covering the tree. To this day we put gold and silver tinsel on trees to remember the Christ Child's blessing and hang a spider there to watch."_

After reading the story Grandmother White had carefully rewrapped the book in the white cloth and tied the blue ribbon. Then she handed the book to Hermione and said, "This is your first rare book. Take care of it and it will be a friend for life."

This year Hermione had found a replacement for the spider she had hung on her tree from the time she was a child. It was not an easy task and finally she went to George Weasley and told him what she wanted. He was puzzled until she told him the story of her first spider and its demise. He had gone through all the corners of the joke shop. Finally he found one spider in a back storeroom that Ron had not destroyed during his part-time helping at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

As she stood at the table to open the small box containing the rubber spider she received a floo call. Fearing that it might be Ron, she quickly put the spider back into the box and closed the lid. "Hermione," called Draco, "are you home yet?"

"Yes, I'm here. Do you want to chat or come on through?"

"Come through if you don't mind."

"Wait a second while I open the wards," Hermione answered.

"Why were you so locked down?" the blond wizard asked. "You usually allow friends and family to drop in from six to eight in the evening unless you are out or sleeping." He stepped through as clean and stylish as a GQ cover model.

"I was putting a special ornament on the tree and wanted to keep Ronald out. Let me close the wards again." When she finished she turned to him with an evil grin on her face, "Want to see?"

He stepped closer as she took the white box from the table. Opening the lid she withdrew the life-sized rubber tarantula. "A spider?" he said with askance in his voice.

"A spider," she responded with triumph in her voice. "You know Ronald hates spiders, don't you?" He smirked remembering the boggart when Professor Lupin was Defense Against the Dark Arts Instructor. At his nod she went on to tell the story of the "Great Christmas tree fire of 2004". She told him to go to the guest powder room and wash his hands and then she would show him something special. Meanwhile, she hung the spider near the trunk at the back of the tree where it would be hidden to all but those who knew it was there. She was casting a special recognize-me-not charm of her own invention that would render the spider invisible to Ronald and anyone who saw it unable to talk about it in the presence of him.

"That's some charm you have there," Draco said as he reentered the room. "I recognize some of the wand work and part of the incantation, but the rest is a mystery."

"It is a directional recognize-me-not charm that makes things invisible only to specific people and anyone seeing the object cannot talk about it in the person's presence. It works for up to ten people, after that it gets muddled in the vocalization portion. I am working on perfecting it," Hermione explained.

"Why did I have to wash up?" he asked.

"I want to show you something special." Hermione took the white cloth package tied with the blue ribbon from the shelf. It lay beneath her copy of "Beetle the Bard" that Dumbledore had given her in his will. It was also wrapped in cloth, but tied with red ribbon.

"_As many times as I have been over here, I have never seen inside these white cloth-wrapped parcels," _thought Draco. She sat down, patted the sofa beside her and slipped on white gloves. Draco sat down and looked at the beautiful book Hermione had unwrapped. "I don't think that I have ever seen such a beautiful volume. What is it about?"

"It is muggle folktales. This rare edition was given to me by my Grandmother White when she taught me about caring for unique and rare books. The day she gave it to me I fell in love," Hermione paused, and then added, "with books."

The couple sat on the sofa and Hermione read the "Legend of the Christmas Spider" aloud. They both marveled over the beautiful hand painted illustrations, illuminated with gold brush strokes as fine as a hair. When she finished she carefully wrapped the book and returned it to the shelf. She detoured through the kitchen and picked up a bottle of wine and two glasses. Sitting back near Draco she sat the wine and glasses on the table and handed him the corkscrew. "Do the honors?" she asked.

Looking at her sitting there he slipped an arm around her shoulders and put the corkscrew down. "How about we do this first?" he asked as he lifted her chin with his free hand. "I missed doing this at my cocktail party when you got ran away before the canapés were even served." His lips met hers as there was a floo call.

"'Mione, I can't get in."

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><p><strong>AN:** The legend of the spider is as close to the one my grandmother used to read to us each year. Other versions can be found on the internet.

**This chapter is dedicated to Jade and Todd my** **critics and my cheer squad. Merry Christmas! S.**


	17. Ch 16 Sledding with Teddy

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the characters. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 16.<strong>

**Sledding with Teddy**

Hermione smiled as she looked out the window and watched the snow gently fall on the balcony and frost her deck furniture in white. It had been snowing a while and there was about five centimeters of covering, as near as she could guess. She poured water into her coffee maker and replaced the pot. She sniffed the hearty aroma of the rich Columbian roast as she ground the beans. She put the grounds into the filter and returned the whole beans in their sealed jar back into the freezing compartment of the refrigerator. Hermione took in the scene and each gleaming stainless steel appliance had been carefully selected. They were set off by the white cabinets and the black granite counters. The floor was a warm grey slate and charcoal coloured cushioned rugs with non-slip charms were scattered about where you would stand performing the cooking tasks.

She reached into the pan drawer and withdrew a square griddle and a skillet. From the refrigerator she took one egg, milk, and butter. From the freezing compartment of the refrigerator she took a loaf of white bread and a rasher of bacon. Two of her guilty pleasures were hickory smoked peppercorn encrusted bacon and soft white bread made into French toast. Since living alone she had taken to storing both in the freezer so they would not spoil, mold or turn green. Hermione could just not eat it quick enough being single. She took two slices of the bread from the wrapper and then resealed it. After removing the foil wrap from the bacon, she bent it back and forth as her mother had taught her. She opened the plastic zipper bag and took out two of the freed slices and placed them on a paper towel. Rewrapping the bacon first, she picked up the bread and returned them both to the freezer. Taking the sugar bowl, salt shaker, vanilla and maple syrup from the cupboard, Hermione counted off the ingredients in her head. Whenever she had time to cook, Hermione liked to cook from scratch. She fried the bacon while she stirred up the batter for the French toast in a glass pie plate.

With a flick of her wand she turned on her computer, brought up the media player and the holiday mix playlist. It was a selection of her favorite songs from various artists and the player was set to shuffle. The first song was so appropriate and Hermione laughed at the strains of Rod Stewart's duet with Dolly Parton. They were singing _"Baby, it's cold outside."_

She put a green place mat and red napkin on the shiny black table in the breakfast nook. The "everyday" dishes she had chosen were white stoneware with a black impressionistic floral arrangement within a wide black rim. The mug she poured her coffee into was a pure white rimmed with a single narrow gold band and here and there scattered a gold or silver star. Hermione took a sip of the dark hot brew before placing it on the table. She remembered with a smile her office co-workers saying that Hermione liked coffee in her coffee whenever anyone new was getting the coffee for a meeting.

Hermione removed the bacon from the skillet to a waiting paper towel to drain. She poured a small amount onto the warming griddle, then the remainder went into a grease can that she would discard later. After testing to see if the griddle would sizzle when she splashed a sprinkle of water on it, she dipped the bread into the batter, flipped it and turned it out onto the griddle. She poured the remaining batter over the browning toast. She put the dish into the sink with the skillet and filled both with a dot of dish washing liquid and a stream of hot water to soak.

Hermione flipped the French toast to allow the second side to brown. She opened the window over the sink to allow a beautiful snowy owl to enter. "Good morning," Hermione greeted Harry's and Ginny's owl. Precious held out a leg for Hermione to remove the parchment note that was beautifully tied on with a red and gold bow. _"How Gryffindor,"_ Hermione thought, _"a note from Ginny because Harry used whatever was around to tie and it was rarely a ribbon. Last time it was a piece of raffia that Ginny had discarded from a craft project tied in a square knot multiple times."_ The note was an invitation to lunch at the Leaky Cauldron at 1 and a reprimand-in-advance to not feed Precious bacon because the peppercorns gave him gas. Hermione scribbled a hasty "I'll be there. H." on the bottom of the invitation, gave Precious a piece of the peppercorn bacon and tied the note back to her leg while she ate. "_Ginny knows I always eat French toast and peppercorn bacon on Saturday mornings and always share with Precious when she comes, so there," _Hermione thought. She also gave Precious a piece of French toast crust as Hermione removed it from the griddle and put it on a plate. Reopening the window for the owl, Hermione breathed in the cold fresh air.

"_Which ornament will I put on the tree today," _mused Hermione as she ate her breakfast. Finishing, she took the dishes to the sink and shook the crumbs from the placemat into the trash. The napkin would go into the wash later. Hermione filled the sink with hot soapy water and washed the breakfast dishes by rote. Mentally she was going through the box of ornaments. Last year she had found the most wonderful ornament boxes. They were rigid plastic to keep spiders and mice out with dividers that could be adjusted to fit the size of each ornament. Inside the lid was a chart where you could write a description of each ornament and notes about it. It was similar to the chart inside the boxes of chocolates so you could avoid those you didn't like and leave them for somebody else to eat. She had gotten ornament storage boxes for everyone in the family as "after-Christmas" presents. Some liked the boxes more than others. Ron commented not very complementarily that it reminded him of the organizers she had gotten Harry and him one year at Hogwarts.

This memory gave her the answer! She went in and selected a small flexible-flyer sled with red runners and a wooden slatted bed. On top was a small brown teddy bear with a green and purple plaid ribbon around its neck holding tight to the matching ribbon that was threaded through the holes in the wooden steering cross-piece and ending in a bow with an extra loop for hanging. Between his feet, the teddy bear had a bag overflowing with tiny boxes wrapped in various colors and accessorized with contrasting bows. Her parents had gotten this ornament to commemorate her first Christmas at Hogwarts.

Grabbing an ornament hanger from the basket and threading it through the loop she hung the sled on the tree. Then Hermione raced down the hall to change for her lunch with Ginny and a bit of last minute Christmas shopping beforehand.

Half an hour later Hermione was at the Leaky Cauldron. "Hannah, Ginny and I will be coming back for lunch about 1, can you set aside a corner booth so we can have some privacy?" Hermione greeted her former schoolmate.

"You have it, Hermione," Hannah replied. "I'll have it ready about quarter to."

Hermione exited through the back door and tapped the bricks to enter Diagon Alley. She decided to go to Pansy's new shop for a gown to wear to the upcoming New Year's Eve Ball at Malfoy Manor. Every year since she had started working for the ministry she had been invited because of her position, then once Scorpius started courting Rose she had been invited as mother of the girlfriend, then fiancé and now this year mother-in-law. _Tres Chic_ had the most innovative gown/robes in the colours a girl could die for. Lavender Weasley was Pansy Parkinson-Flint's partner in the original clothing design store. Hermione decided to purchase a real knock-out for this year's ball. She was immediately greeted by the owner and premiere designer upon entering the shop. Sheepishly Pansy apologized, "I am so sorry about Draco's party. I was fighting with Marcus and had entirely too much to drink before I got there. Blaise was trying to keep me from being stupid, but didn't quite make it. Can I pay for cleaning your dress?"

The immediate apology startled Hermione, but not being one to hold a grudge. "Thank you that would be nice. Pansy, I need something," Hermione started.

"Stunning, unique and breath-taking to wear to Malfoy's Winter Ball," finished Pansy. "Something a little conservative at first glance and will knock their socks off at second thought."

"Exactly!" exclaimed Hermione.

"Before you say, 'No!' to the color and design, let me show you the last collaborative creation of Lavender Pansy."

"But, Pans, you know how I hate to break the bank for your specials and the Lavender Pansy line is so exclusive," replied Hermione, trailing off with more unsaid.

"Just humor me, Hermione. I think you will be pleased if you just try it on. I will give you it at cost to assuage my guilt," she whispered the last conspiratorially. "Angie, please bring out the _'Holly and the Ivy'_ for Ms. Granger to try on."

When she stepped out of the dressing room for inspection, the room was silent. "What? It doesn't fit right?" Hermione asked. She slowly turned in front of the mirror. The gown had a deep green velvet skirt with embossed holly leaves scattered about. It was a typical ball gown in style but the top stole the show. It was an ivory velvet strapless sweetheart design with ivy leaves embroidered on it in the green shade of the skirt and echoed by gold and silver thread accents following the green lines. The robe that covered it was the ivory material and the lining was the green. It felt lush, soft and warm. Pansy handed her the ivory lamb leather over-the-elbow gloves that completed the ensemble. Each button hole at the wrist of the gloves was outlined in the braided gold, silver and green embroidery in a leaf shape and the tiny buttons were matched pearls.

"You look almost perfect," said Pansy truthfully. "Wait here. I have something that will set this off to a T." She returned with a pearl necklace and earring set and a pair of gold and silver sandals.

After much discussion and arguing on Hermione's part and stubbornness on Pansy's part Hermione left with the perfect dress to be delivered to her home later that day.

Lunch with Ginny went by too quickly. Hermione refused to tell her about "THE DRESS", but said she would see it at the Ball.

When she returned home, Hermione noticed the sleigh had been removed from the tree and was lying on the packages from _Tres Chic._ When she picked it up, one of the tiny packages fell off the sled. She returned the ornament to the tree, then sat down to look at the package more closely. It was larger than the others on the sled and wrapped in green with a gold bow. The lid popped off easily and there was a single carved green jade holly leaf with a clasp at the top to attach as a pendant to a necklace. A coiled piece of parchment unrolled to reveal green lettering, _"To wear on your pearls to the Ball."_ Her secret admirer definitely had style.

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><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 15 Prompt: <strong>Star


	18. Ch 17 Santa was a Cowboy

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the characters in this story. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 17.<strong>

**Santa was a Cowboy**

She had worked hard and overtime in order to secure two weeks holiday. They had planned and requested the time off months in advance. It was to be the last Christmas before the children started school. Rose was 10 and Hugo 8, the perfect ages to really enjoy a trip to Knotts' Berry Farm, Disneyland, Universal Studios and the warm beaches of southern California. In San Diego they would go to the zoo and go on a boat off the coast of San Diego to whale watch. The bags were packed, tickets purchased, hotels booked, and the passports arranged. The portkey was scheduled at the International Travel Office.

She looked around the room and made certain that all shoes had mates and everyone's bathing suits laid out. She packed a case for each of them, and then double-checked her bag. Hermione reached over and picked up the list of names they would buy Christmas presents for on the trip. She had changed galleons to American dollars. In her wallet was a credit card that worked through a "middle-man" account where it would look like a Visa card, but the money would be withdrawn from her Gringotts account to cover the charges. Lastly she had a driver's license that would allow her to rent and drive a car.

Ron arrived with Rose and Hugo, whom he had picked up from their school. They would go together to the International Travel Office for their portkey to Iceland. Hermione checked the portkey arrangements for both ways in order to avoid problems on the way. The second would be from Iceland to Newfoundland. A third would get them to Chicago, Illinois and the fourth and final would take them to Los Angeles. The return trip included an overnight stay in Arizona near the Grand Canyon and portkey changes in Denver, Chicago, Halifax, and Reykjavik. They would cross eight time zones going each direction.

During the first to second portkey exchange, Hugo had gotten sick. During the second to third portkey exchange, Rose had vomited in the trash can in the Portkey Lobby. During the third to fourth portkey exchange, Ron had gotten ill in a flower pot. When they landed in L.A. Hugo, Rose and Ron had all gone to the family toilet to be ill while Hermione handled the paperwork. She asked about the return trip at the conclusion of their business and was told by the helpful clerk that Dramamine, a muggle drug, was the best hope for the group and worked better than any wizard potion at this time. Hermione made a note to go to the first drug store she found and stock up. She thought that it was good that they would be only using muggle transportation until they left Denver. The fact that Hermione remained well was ironic for it was she who usually was ill when travelling.

The sight of the western themed Knott's Berry Farm brought out the first incidence of Ron's inner child. He enjoyed the train robbery and dance hall girls equally. There they bought Christmas presents for Arthur and Molly. Ron had said that the his mother wouldn't want the boysenberry jam and syrups that Hermione bought, but she had and was still going on about the flavor.

Rose was in a little girl's fairy tale dream when they went to Disneyland. The boys liked the rides, but she loved the fantasy worlds that had been created. They had bought 'princess' things for all the little girls on the list.

Hugo was blown away by the Universal Studios and the magic behind movies. Movies were purchased with lots of special effects for the little boys on the Christmas list.

By the time they reached San Diego, Ron was complaining about the number of presents. Hermione just smiled and slipped them into a bag with an undetectable extendable charm. Hermione preferred the San Diego Zoo and the whale watching. They rented a car in Los Angeles that Hermione drove after Ron, showing his machismo, ran over two curbs and hit a palm tree.

The highlight of the whole trip was the majesty of the Grand Canyon and the extreme height of the Rockies was breath-taking. The children had such a wonderful time and that included Ron. They had laughed that he was the biggest child of all. The sights seen and strange foods eaten in this muggle world had been new to all except Hermione.

The entrance to the wizarding world in Denver was through a muggle/wizard bookstore. There was a valet at the entrance and the right password would return rental cars rather than parking them for retrieval by the driver. The first time visitors were told to ask for _"Ancient and Moste Potente Potions, 1999 edition"_ by Sebastian Prince (nom de la plume of none other than Severus Snape, but that's another story for another time). A witch would be called from a backroom to escort the new witch, wizard or family to the entrance to Tin Cup Avenue and the wizard shopping district. After the first visit, they could just make their way back through the maze of stacks of the used and rare books and to the wall behind the red velvet curtain with gold rope tiebacks and tassels.

Once on Tin Cup Avenue there were shops with the distinct flavor of the American West. One store had a basket with marked down Christmas decorations out front and that is where Hermione found the Cowboy Santa Claus. He was German blown glass with his traditional chubby pink cheeks and cherry nose. His beard and hair were white, but that was all that was traditional about him. He wore brown chaps over gold trousers. His brown shirt with white cuffs was partially covered by a gold vest. On his feet were black cowboy boots with gold lines to copy fancy embroidery. His cowboy hat had was gold with a black hatband. The buckle on his black belt was gold and silver. The whole ornament had a sprinkling of silver and gold accents to add further to the sheen. It was marked down from $45 to $5, a bargain at twice that price which Hermione took as a sign from a god that she should buy it.

Carefully she removed it from the original box and hooked an ornament hanger through the loop at the top of the Santa Cowboy Hat. Then she hung it on the tree still remembering their only family holiday. She hoped the others would hold it as dear as she did.

Sitting on her sofa, Hermione picked up the pot of smoky Darjeeling tea and poured a cup of the dark, steamy beverage. Using the silver tongs she dropped one cube of sugar into the cup and slid off her slippers. Putting her feet up on the other end of the sofa and taking the copy of _"A Christmas Carol" _by Charles Dickens in one smooth movement, she lay back against the arm to read. She sat back up when she noticed a new bookmark in the slender volume. This one was a counted cross-stitch on ivory linen with green letters reading, _"Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts. ~Janice Maeditere."_ At the bottom was embroidered a sprig of holly and a green heart.

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><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 16 prompt:<strong> Christmas presents


	19. Ch 18 Jingle Bells

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the characters in this story. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 18.<strong>

**Jingle Bell**

When she got up on morning, Hermione's clock radio came on to Brenda Lee singing "Jingle Bell Rock". When she stepped out of the shower the tune had switched to "Jingle Bells". She thought about the ornament for the tree that day. It would be a jingle bell. She would have to go shopping because she no longer had one.

Today was one where Hermione was so glad that the work robes covered her clothes. She chose gray slacks and a red silk blouse. The vest was a nod to the holiday season for it was a cream-coloured brocade with a red, green, gold and silver motif. The back was cream coloured satin but instead of the usual matching tie, the one on this vest was red. Charcoal gray pumps finished the outfit which was accessorized by only gold hoops in her ears. Her hair again had been French braided for work, but she had braided in a gold ribbon and tied it off the braid with a gold bow.

When she stepped out of the floo she was met by something that could be described as cross between tacky department store window display and post-office party with at least 15 strings of fairy lights strung everywhere, even the ugly icicle ones that she really hated. "Janice, my office now!" Hermione yelled.

"Janice is not scheduled to be here for another hour, remember?" came the dulcent tones of her best friend. "Coffee?" Harry reached over a large Yule log to offer a hand and aid Hermione's entry. "It is strong, hot and black, just like you like it this time of day."

"What on earth happened to my office?" asked Hermione after which she took a sip of the brew and enjoyed the heady aroma.

"I came in early to clean up. It seems as though Ron and Lavender had their baby last night, a boy. When she went to sleep, he went to the Leaky and was buying rounds for the house. Well, you know how he gets after he drinks - nostalgic. When he went to tell you he couldn't get through, so he came over here to share the 'cheer'. A couple of other guys came with him to help decorate. Hannah called me this morning because she had been so busy last night that she forgot where Ron had taken the party and half of her decorations," explained Harry.

"It looks like a frat party gone wild in here, Harry!"

"Well, look at it this way, you can give Hannah hers back and donate the decorations to the Senior Centre and have leftover decorations for the Ministry in-house day care," Harry replied.

"Only if they are willing to come and take this out of here in the next half an hour," said Hermione. "I have a meeting at eight thirty. And get those ugly icicle fairy lights out of here first!"

"On it, Hermione," Harry promised, "I will round up someone to take care of it." He hurried out of the office as Draco was coming in.

"What in the world happened here?" asked Draco.

"Remember when we locked Ron out while we were putting the spider on the tree?" Hermione continued when he nodded, "He had come over to tell me that the baby is here. Oh, I forgot to ask Harry what they named the newest Weasley boy. Since I had the floo closed he went and bought drinks for the house at the Leaky, then brought the celebration here and half of Hannah's decorations. Since I had not decorated the drunken celebration of the newest Weasley helped me." Irony was dripping from her voice as she ended the last part of the commentary. "Harry is going to get someone to help him return Hannah's to her and take the rest of this 'celebration' over to the Senior Centre. They hadn't decorated last time I dropped by to see how they were doing on the food drive."

The office was cleared before Hermione's meeting except that when she sat down at her desk she found a jingle bell tied to a long red cord to wear around her neck. At the top of the bell where it joined the cord was a small sprig of mistletoe. It was a funny because it lit squarely between her breasts when she put it on. Immediately Hermione removed the jingle bell and laughed at the inappropriate gift for office wear. Hermione slipped it into her pocket and put on her robes as Janice announced her first meeting.

Hermione was still thinking about jingle bells when she left the office after work. The first time Hermione read "The Polar Express" by Chris Van Allsburg to Hugo he had been enthralled. He thought that it was the Hogwarts Express and the next stop after Hogsmead was the North Pole. They would look at each illustration. Before he could even read, Hugo would read the pictures and tell Hermione the story. When he was three, he asked Santa for a Reindeer Bell for Christmas. Hermione and Ron had scoured the city both muggle and magic looking for the right bell for "Santa" to leave under the tree. When Ron finally found one, Hermione had charmed it so that only children could hear the sound. The one exception was that Hugo would always be able to hear it. He would ring it and quote the last paragraph of the book every time he hung it on the tree. "_At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I've grown old, the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe."__*****_

Hermione had been sad to pack the bell and book in Hugo's box of ornaments. On the way home from work, she made a side trip to a muggle book store. When she asked the clerk if they had the book, they had several copies of the book only, but they had a special edition as well. The special edition book came in a mesh bag with a reindeer bell. She bought two of the books, one for herself and one to give to give to Ron and Lavender for their baby's first Christmas—they could read it to him this year and eventually he could read it himself."

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><p><strong>*<strong> "The Polar Express" by Chris Van Allsburg

**Advent Calendar Day 17 prompt:** Fairy lights


	20. Ch 19 Quilted Ball

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the characters in this story.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 19.<strong>

**Quilted Ball**

A quilted ball isn't quilted at all. It is a Styrofoam ball that is covered with cloth. Hermione had so much fun teaching Rose how to make these. When Rose was six she wanted to give everyone in the family a Christmas present. She didn't have much allowance left after buying a wizard chess set for Hugo. She had justified this purchase to her mother in that the chess pieces were always being destroyed and mended. Eventually the pieces couldn't be repaired and a "chess wizard" like Hugo could never own too many practice sets. This saved the expensive chess set his parents had gotten him for real matches. Hermione told Rose that she had an idea that would not cost much. She took Rose to the craft store where they bought three dozen of the foam balls.

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><p>"cn I cm ovr"<p>

A text message appeared on Hermione's mobile. "Sure, when?" Hermione replied.

"now"

"Okay, the floo is open. What's up?" Before Hermione could answer Rose was stepping out of the fireplace. "Oh, Rosie, what is the matter?" asked the mother as she noticed the red and swollen eyes of her daughter.

"Mom, I could just die!"

"Rose, calm down and take a deep breath. Now talk to me."

"I overspent my account on Scorp's present and can't buy anything for anyone else this year," sobbed the young witch. "I was trying to be so grown up and I am nothing but a screw up." She blew her nose on a handkerchief that Hermione handed her.

"Rosie, Rosie, Rose of my Heart, what am I going to do with you?" her mother soothed her. "Collect yourself and pour a cup of tea. Then we can figure this out."

Rose poured the tea, added way too much sugar and thoughtfully stirred it. "Haven't I explained more than once that a liquid and only absorb so much sugar before it becomes supersaturated? After that no more will be absorbed no matter how much you stir, unless you heat it."

"Enough with the science lesson, Mom. What am I going to do?" Rose begged. "Scorpius and I decided we were only going to live on the money we made and I have been working two jobs and Scorp is doing his Auror training so he cannot work. We hardly see one another. Being a grown-up is just so hard."

"First, I am going to give you part of your Christmas present from me and then we will figure the rest out." replied Hermione. She left the room and came back with two flat boxes that hadn't been wrapped yet. "I was going to surprise you, but this can help with the finance portion in the future," Hermione told her as she handed her one.

"Mom, this is just what I needed!" exclaimed Rose after opening her box.

"There is software for bookkeeping installed in the tablet. I have also added it to my online/mobile account, so you won't have it cut off again like your mobile has been for the last week," the wise mother said. "You may as well give Scorpius his when you get home." She handed Rose a second package.

"Floo back home and get your coat because we are going craft shopping in muggle London. I'll see you here in five. Either tell or leave a note for your husband that you will be with me."

Sure enough, Rose and Hermione were descending the stairs from Hermione's flat in five minutes. They went to the side yard where Hermione had parked her Mini. The drive to the shops passed quickly and soon they were entering a craft story. "Quilted ornaments! Oh, Mom, that's a perfect gift!" exclaimed Rose.

"Let's make them even more special than the last time you made them," said Hermione as they walked toward the fabric selections. "We can get satins, silks, velvets and brocades and then lace, buttons and ribbons for decorations instead of using scraps from my sewing bag."

As the women settled at the dining room table, the older witch started the CD music of Annie Lennox singing "The Holly and the Ivy" with a flick of her wand. The younger witch, having taken out the treasures from the bags, went to Hermione's office and came back with two letter openers, two black markers, an exacto knife, and a tube of glue. "Remember how you told me to do this when I was little?" Rose asked.

"Yes. Are you going to make crazy quilt ones or planned patterns?" replied her mother.

"I thought I might do some of each. Are you going to help or watch?" Rose asked.

"I can cut the material after you inscribe the lines on the balls. Just tell me what material you want."

The mother and daughter sat there for several hours. Rose drew lines on the balls with a marker and then handed them to her mother. There were balls with crazy quilt patterns, others had a star design, still others had latitudinal lines and two had special designs that would look like appliqués when finished. Each ball had been laid on the fabric and the pieces of material cut out slightly larger than the shape. When all the fabric was cut for a ball both were set aside and the next ball selected for material.

After all the fabric had been cut, the black lines on the balls were scored with the exacto knife. Following this the fabric was placed over the designated space and the surplus fabric pressed into the groove cut by the knife with a letter opener. Once the entire ball was fabric covered the lines where the fabric had been pushed in gave a puffy quilted look. Some lines were covered with ribbons; some balls had lace over part of the fabric. Pearl and sequined buttons were pressed into the foam where there were joints and glue held the loose bits on the ball finally a loop of ribbon was threaded through an upholstery needle. The needle went all the way through the ball leaving a tail of ribbon at the bottom. A loop of about four inches of ribbon was left at the top and the needle driven through the ball again. A bead was threaded on the two tails of ribbon and knotted to keep the tie from escaping. At the top lace or bows or more pearls encircled the hanging loop. There were forty-eight balls lying on the table when they finished.

"ord chn444spr. cmn thru" was the next message on Hermione's mobile.

"Looks like someone is trying to tell us something," Hermione laughed as she handed the phone to Rose.

"Scorp says that he has ordered Chinese for four for supper and he is coming through."

Seconds later Scorpius Malfoy entered Hermione's flat followed closely by his father. After kissing his wife, Scorpius asked, "What was the tragic problem that you had to talk with your mother about or is this not the time to discuss it?"

Hermione made herself busy packing up the balls that they had decorated. "Why don't you take these home and bring back what I gave you for Scorpius?" Then she directed, "Scorpius, why don't you get bowls out for the take-out and show your dad where the dishes are? I'll be along in a minute as I need to finish cleaning up this." She finished clearing the table and then took out Christmas placemats and napkins from the sideboard. After setting them on the table, she replaced the centerpiece—a large brandy snifter filled with glass balls, ribbons and bows. Purposefully she went into the kitchen to check the progress of the Malfoy men.

She reached into the cupboard for the glass spoon holder full of chopsticks. She stopped and looked at the spoon holder. It was cut glass and had been her mother's. It had been purchased for a pound at a boot sale, but the beautiful wide mouthed vase always held spoons, but now held chopsticks. For informal occasions the spoon holder had just been put onto the table and people would take one as needed. Hermione now kept the beautiful lacquered bamboo chopsticks she used for dining on Chinese in the spoon holder. There were mother of pearl decorations on the portion that the user held in their hands. She reached into the drawer and pulled out several serving spoons and a serving fork and walked back to the table where the men had set the table with plates and the steaming bowls and platters of Chinese food. Anyone looking at the tableau would say that someone had been cooking rather than dishing up the take-out.

"Draco, there is a good plum wine in the wine fridge. Why don't you get it out? There is a cork screw in the same drawer as where I got the serving spoons. There are wine glasses from the buffet in here."

"Scorp, look what Mom got us," said Rose as she re-entered the dining room and handed him a flat package.

Draco pulled out Hermione's chair so she could be seated. "Did Santa Claus come early?" he whispered in her ear that felt more like a caress and sent shivers down her spine.

"Necessary. We can talk later."

"Wow, thank you, Hermione!" exclaimed Scorpius when he opened the box.

"There is bookkeeping software so you can track your finances. I also have put you both on my internet/mobile account for the next two years," said Hermione in an even tone, not wanting to let on about the earlier panic of her daughter.

She turned the dinner conversation to the meal. "My favorite is the Mongolian beef with cellophane noodles. I like the slight hot touch of the peppers. This is so good."

"Rose, please don't hog the egg rolls," laughed Scorpius.

After dinner the younger male Malfoy said, "You old people go into the living room while we clean up."

Laughing Draco responded, "I don't think of myself as old, do you Hermione?" Then he added, "My Lady may I escort you?"

Hermione stood and picked her glass of wine, "Certainly, My Lord." She played along. As they were seated she asked, "What?"

"Why did you get them tablet and pay for a service contract, Mrs. Claus?"

"I just couldn't stand by watching them struggle any harder than they are already. I also have given them Christmas cheques to help them out."

"I also wrote out a couple of cheques," Draco chuckled.

"Now who is the Santa Claus?" Hermione teased.

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><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 18 prompt:<strong> Santa Claus


	21. Ch 20 Robins and Cardinals

**Disclaimer: The characters in this story are J.K. Rowlings. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 20.<strong>

**Robins and Cardinals**

When she was a small child her grandmother had robins and cardinals on her Christmas trees. The cardinals were bright red birds that were a colourful contrast to the green boughs. They had soft cotton bodies built over a wire frame. The wire legs and feet gripped the branch to stand upright among the ornaments and lights. The cotton had been painted red and then had bright red dyed feathers glued all over the body to look like a real bird roosting on the limbs. The wonderful tail feathers were spread, while the wings were tucked close. They had bright black jet eyes and the throats were black feathers to mimic the birds found in North America. As a small child the bright colour was not incongruous, but such brilliance would be certain death in nature.

As she grew older she became more drawn to the little brown birds that also populated her grandmother's trees. These were made with the same care, but they were harder to spot with the shades of brown and the muted orange-red colour. There are many legends related to the robin and its presence on Christmas cards throughout the world. Hermione being a researching being had been trying to collect as many of these that she could find. There had been robins in Norse mythology as well as Christian Easter legends. Hermione's favorite story was the one where a robin saved the Christ Child from a fire.

"_In this time ravens were large brightly coloured birds and robins were small and brown. Ravens were always boasting about their beautiful colours and high place in the animal kingdom. Robins were humble birds that only sat by and watched. On the night the Christ Child was born there was a terrible storm and the Holy Family seeking shelter in the stable was cold. The animals knowing that this was a special baby gathered around them to keep them warm. The raven being a proud bird decided that a fire would keep them warmer than the heat from the animals. He stole a coal from a nearby fire and brought it into the stable where the baby lay in the manger. The coal was dropped onto the straw which caught fire. Before the fire could spread a robin flew in and batted its wings hard to blow the flames away. The smoke was dense and black from the wet straw, but the little robin was steadfast in fanning it away until the man could put out the fire. When it fire was gone, the raven's beautiful plumage had turned black from the smoke. The robin was exhausted and lay on the ground near the fire. All thought that the robin had died. When the mother picked the Christ Child out of the manger, he waved his hand over the bird and it sprung to life, its breast was stained red from the flames of the fire. This is why ravens are black and robins have beautiful red breasts."_

When Hermione unwrapped the next two ornaments (you know the new rule where if they are the same kind you can put more than one on the tree because they are still the same kind), she revealed a red feathered cardinal and a small brown robin. The cardinal was bright and showy. The robin was a light tan brown on the underside and a medium brown on the top, but its breast was the muted orange-red of heroism. She smoothed the feathers and clipped each to a branch of the tree.

Next Hermione unpacked her Christmas stocking. It was made of a white quilt with a twig and leaf appliqué. On the twig were two birds a cardinal and a robin. The materials making the birds were bright prints that had the look of feathers from a distance. The cuff of the stocking was gold and on it were appliquéd three green holly leaves and three red berries. Her name was embroideried in bright red also on the cuff. Hermione had made this stocking when she was eleven. When she married Ron she had made him a red one with chess piece and Quidditch appliqués. When Rose was born, her mother made Rose one with roses and a tiara on the top. It was red and the roses were white. The tiara was gold and had gems of red, blue, green, purple and white enhancing it. The fourth stocking Hermione had made was a royal blue with silver and gold stars and moon and colourful planets because Hugo had been so small for his first Christmas his mother didn't know what his personality might be. She told Ron that Hugo's future had yet to be written. For a present and piece offering to Lavender's first Christmas as Ron's wife Hermione had made her a purple girlish one. This year she had made a stocking for Joel and would take it to the Christmas Eve gathering of the Weasleys at the Burrow. It was red with a snowman and snowflakes on it.

Turning on her heel, Hermione went to her bedroom to change for the Potter's Christmas supper party. The dress she had selected was a classic little black Chanel Hermione had found in a vintage clothing shop. It had been crammed between some of the most colourful sixties outfits she had ever seen. The shopkeeper obviously did not know what a treasure the dress was. When Hermione asked if they were certain that they only wanted five pounds for it they assured her that the price was correct. It was one of the earliest designs and consequently a little longer than most. Hermione accessorized it with silver. She had a wide silver belt with an ornate c-shaped buckle. She had a silver lady's watch on a silver chain as a pendant. The watch was an antique since her great-grandmother had received it as a graduation present when she completed normal school, no mean feat for that time. Small diamond studs on her ears winked from behind the curtain of hair that had been straightened except the ends and perfectly Hermione's face. She wore comfortable silver and black sequined shoes with a medium-high heel.

Slipping on her black cloak she stepped into her fireplace and flooed to the Potter residence. "Hermione, I am so glad you are here!" Harry exclaimed. "Ginny isn't back from Ron's yet. She went over to help settle Lavender while Ron went in to fill out paper work for an extended leave."

"Never changes, does it?" Hermione commented. "He puts off until the last minute and then has to rush to get it done." As she shrugged out of her coat, she asked, "What can I do?" Removing her hat, she slid it down the left sleeve; removing her scarf she slid it down the right. She removed her gloves one at a time. First she took off the right; she folded in half and slipped it into the right pocket of the coat. Then came the left when she felt something in the left pocket as she tried to put the folded glove in it. There was a small jeweler's box tied with a green ribbon. Hermione shook her head and kept it in her hand as she hung her coat in the cloak closet.

"I need help with putting the food out," Harry answered. "Ginny got it all ready and set out the dishes just before she was called away. She told me I could figure it out." He stood in the middle of the kitchen looking at a dozen serving bowls and platters on the island and an equal number of kinds of food in storage containers on the counter. "What do you have there?" asking about the box in her hand.

"This? I found it in my coat pocket when I was putting my glove in there." Hermione said and set the box on the counter. "Which ones do you want bowls or platters?"

The friends worked in silence and were setting the last dish on the sideboard for the buffet style serving of the supper. Just as they finished Ginny stepped through the floo. "Lav says, 'Hi.' She said that Pansy had been over to see Joel and told her you bought 'The Holly and the Ivy'. Hermione, that is one expensive dress since it is an original one-off design."

"Well, Pansy did give it to me at cost, so it was considerably less, but I couldn't leave it for someone else to buy."

"Why would she do that?" Ginny asked.

"Because of the 'accident' at Malfoy's cocktail party," Hermione answered. She picked up her small package from the counter indicating that this was a discussion for another time since guests were arriving.

"…And you should have seen Hermione's face when she saw her office," Harry was describing the aftermath of Ron's baby celebration.

"It wasn't that bad, was it?" someone asked.

"Other than the Yule log sticking out of the fireplace and dissecting my office, the 15 strings of fairy and icicle lights and the fact that it looked like the aftermath of an out-of-control frat party, everything was fine," the witch laughed.

"I went over to help with serving food at the Senior Centre and it was certainly festive," Draco said. "What, can't a guy volunteer without everyone disbelieving me. A little witch told me to be nice to those people because I may be there someday."

"Did someone take Hannah's back to the Leaky Cauldron?" asked Theo.

Harry replied that he had.

"Why did you lock Ron out of your floo, Hermione?" asked Neville.

"I was decorating my tree," said Hermione as she finished filling her plate and sat near an end table so she could put the plate down while opening the box.

"THE GREAT CHRISTMAS TREE FIRE OF 2004!" shouted Harry, Ginny, Angelina, Charlie, Bill and Fleur in unison. "Did you find a new one?" asked Ginny.

Playing it cool, Hermione slowly replied, "Tree? Yes, I did."

"No, the spider," admonished Harry.

George said, "No, I found one that Ron had missed in the…"

"WEASLEY'S WIZARD WHEEZES JOKE SHOP SPIDER MASSACRE OF 2005!" shouted the group again.

Blaise raised an eyebrow and then asked, "Will someone that isn't a first or second degree Weasley explain?" Then he looked at the smirk on Draco's face. "You aren't even a fifty-second degree Weasley, so what are you smirking about?

"Oh, Blaise, how soon you forget that I am now a third degree Weasley? My son married Rose. I was closer than fifty-two degrees before because of the Ancient and Noble House of Black connection." Draco sat down on the sofa next to Hermione and whispered, "What do you have there?"

"I get to tell the story complete with sound effects," volunteered Ginny.

"But no grand finale," admonished Harry, "we want a tree for Christmas."

While Ginny told the story of the "Great Christmas Tree Fire of 2004" followed by George telling the story of the "Triple W Joke Shop Spider Massacre of 2005", Hermione was opening her box with Draco watching. As she removed two ruby pendants from the box, she held her breath then whispered, "Oh, my." She pulled out a folded piece of parchment with the familiar green calligraphy, _"Holly needs berries and your pearls need these." _The note was signed with the familiar green holly leaves, three red berries, and a heart, but it was half red and half green this time instead of the usual green heart.

She took her mobile out of her clutch and texted to the number of unknown person who had been sending messages to her. She had put it as speed dial 3 since she had so many of the texts with the heart emoticon. "They are beautiful and will sit on the sides of the jade pendant. Thanks, H." She hit send and she heard Draco's mobile buzz as though it was set on vibrate. Their eyes met in recognition.

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><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 19 prompt:<strong> Stocking


	22. Ch 21 Rudolph the Clothespeg Reindeer

**Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to J.K. Rowling.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 21.<strong>

**Rudolph, the Clothespeg Reindeer**

"Mommy can you help me make some Christmas presents?" five year-old Hugo asked Hermione.

Hermione brushed the red hair out of the small boy's face with her fingers. She looked into the bright blue eyes. "_Oh, he looks just like his daddy_," she thought. "What would you like to make?" she asked.

"Dunno," Hugo answered.

Hermione thought a few minutes then said, "Get your coat. We are going to the craft store."

They got into the car, hooked their seatbelts and drove away. "How many do you need?"

"Whole bunches. I got a big family!" exclaimed the small red-head.

When they arrived at the craft store, they took a basket and started to move up and down the aisles. In the fabric section, Hermione found some brown felt remnants. She also selected some red, green, gold and silver rick rack. Two aisles over Hermione found pom-poms and chose a bag of tiny red ones. Down the yarn aisle they found a skein of brown. She counted off the items as she put them into the basket Hugo was carrying. "We need paint and clothespegs; I have brushes and sandpaper at home as well as glue. Oh, we need some small sprigs of holly, too."

"What are we going to make Mom?" asked Hugo as they left the shop.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Mom," Hugo called as he stepped through the floo, "are you home?"<p>

"In here, I was making mac and cheese," Hermione replied. "Do you want some?"

"Yah, I could use some of that. Lav is mostly sleeping so Dad is cooking." He made a screwed-up face. Ron had learned to make survival food, but it was all the same. "Tomorrow Lav's mom is coming over and I hope she brings food."

"Oh, Hugo," Hermione chuckled, "you are such a love. Have you and your dad finished all the food your Grandmother Molly sent over?"

"Did that yesterday."

"I am so glad I don't pay your grocery bill all the time," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "I'd be in the poor house soon."

"But, Mom, your mac and cheese is the best on earth. What are you going to do today?"

"I've been decorating the Christmas tree one ornament a day. I was going to pick out one for today and watch 'White Christmas'. Would you like to choose the ornament?"

"You didn't get a very big tree, did you?" Hugo commented. "I think we need to put this one on." He handed her a clothespeg reindeer. "Remember when we made them?"

"Yes, I remember," she replied.

"Remember how I messed up and some of the bodies were really big and others were skinny. None of the loops were even and the paint was messy."

"My favorite was the one that had two heads like a pushme-pullyou. You swore you didn't do it on purpose," his mother said.

"Can we make some new ones for everyone this year?" the red-headed boy asked. " I want to just sit here with you because it is quiet and over at Dad and Lav's it is a zoo. There is someone popping in or out every couple of minutes to see Joel."

"Clear the dining room table and put old _Prophets_ all over it to keep the glue off the wood," she directed. "I just happened to pick up the supplies when I was at the craft store with Rose earlier this week. I was hoping you would want to do this."

"I'll paint the brown and you can do the eyes and feet in black, okay?" he asked. He divided the clothespegs into groups of three. "How many of these are we making?"

"48. That's how many Rose and I made the other day." Hermione stood up and started out of the room, "Why don't you get started while I get something for you? That way they will be dry enough for eyes and feet when I get back."

Hermione returned to the room and handed Hugo a flat box like the ones she had given Rose and Scorpius. "This tablet is on my internet/mobile account and is part of your Christmas. I gave Rose hers the other day."

"Albus has one like this. He charmed it to work in Hogwarts. I need to ask him to show me how. Thanks, Mom," Hugo said giving his mother a hug. "Now get to painting I am ten reindeer ahead of you."

"Yes, sir!" Hermione picked up her paint brush and dipped it into the black paint. Hugo had painted the clothespegs brown with acrylic paint. Two of the three clothespegs for each deer needed about five centimeters up on the open ends of the peg painted black, while the third need a black eye painted on two sides of the round end and a pencil line mouth on the end.

After he finished painting, Hugo moved to cutting a piece of cardboard to go between the pegs to form the body. This he covered with brown felt. He cut pieces of rick-rack to form the reins and a longer piece to tie around the neck and form a loop to hang the ornament on the tree. Hugo began to assemble the bodies of the deer sliding a felt-covered body between two clothespegs with the black feet. It was snug, but a extra dab of glue held it in place.

After she finished with the black paint, Hermione glued one small pom-pom on each head as a red nose. The open ends of the clothespeg formed the antlers of the reindeer. She glued one loop between the antlers and a sprig of holly hid where the loop was attached. Then she glued the reins to the corners of the mouth and left the loop loose to go onto the back. Once the heads where done she handed them back to Hugo to attach to the bodies with more glue. "Mom, these are so much better than last time." Then he attached yarn tails.

"You were only five last time we made them," Hermione said, "so they had better be. Are you going to hang a new one or the old one on the tree? If it is a new one, it had better wait until tomorrow for the glue to totally set."

"I think the old one," Hugo said and picked the lopsided ornament from the ornament box. "Shit, Mom, you have a spider in the tree!"

"Yes, I know."

"Does Dad know?"

"No and nobody will tell him either."

"You are telling me! As many times as you told us the story about the 'Great Christmas Tree Fire of 2004', I thought you would never get another spider," Hugo exclaimed. He ran a hand through his hair. "Dad is going to explode!"

"Hugo," his mother said evenly, "calm down. This is my tree and not your dad's. Besides I have created a variation on the notice-me-not charm that will allow only your dad to be oblivious as to the presence of the spider. Nobody that sees it can tell him it is there either. I am fine." She gathered the last of the clothespin reindeer into the basket she held and handed it to him. "Give this other bag to your dad. It has more mac and cheese and ham for sandwiches so you won't starve. Don't forget to feed Lav, too."

As she stepped back from hugging her son good-bye, she noticed a package on the coffee table. It was wrapped in white cloth and tied with green ribbon. The parchment note that was slipped under the tie had green calligraphy saying, _"You have charmed me body and soul. Charming you is my goal."_ The note was signed with the familiar green holly leaves with red berries and the formerly green heart was now red. When she removed the cloth Hermione was greeted by a view of a leather bound copy of _'Charms for Everyday'_. She carefully opened it to the title page where it said that it was the first edition and by Filius Flitwick. It was carefully inscribed "To Hermione Granger, one of the smartest, most 'charming' witches I have had the pleasure to teach. F. Flitwick".

Her mobile rang, "Did you get the book?"

"Yes, thank you. It is lovely."

"It is my pleasure. See you tomorrow."

* * *

><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 20 prompt: <strong>Reindeer

**A/N: **I would like to thank the Guest reviewers. I cannot respond to you personally as I do those who sign in, but I appreciate your reviews none the less. S.


	23. Ch 22 Tatted Lace

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the characters in this story. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 22.<strong>

**Tatted Lace**

Hermione's tree was close to being finished. She took a flat box from the shelf of the cupboard. Carefully she removed the cedar chips and then the tissue paper that wrapped these ornaments. Some of the ornaments were over a hundred years old, others were made last year and Hermione had three more to add to the box this year. These were tatted lace ornaments. Tatting is a nearly lost art and when her grandmother had taught her she didn't know another person other than her mother and grandmother who could tat. Now she had taught her daughter, Rose, to tat.

The lace snowflakes were like the real ones, no two alike. She took the snowflakes out of the box one at a time, reading the parchment accompanying it as she hung it on the tree. Years ago Grandmother Granger had catalogued them as she put them into the box. Each had a small number near the hanger so you could match them to the master list. When Hermione was five she had asked if she could learn to make them. Grandmother Granger had bought her mother and Hermione each a shuttle and a ball of crochet thread and taught them the art of tatting. The two women and the small girl would sit around the living room tatting and visiting for days on end. Hermione loved the quiet of sitting and making the intricate loops, knots and picots. Over the years it had become harder to make unique flakes, but Hermione had solved that with her grandmother's catalogue of the ornaments and tracing each pattern onto a sheet referenced from the master. It now filled a loose-leaf notebook of nearly 100 snowflakes.

The snow was gently falling outside to match the crisp whiteness of the flakes that Hermione was hanging on the tree. All of the original snowflakes were white, but in the last few years she had begun using a thread with a silver or gold strand spun in. They had been carefully washed and then starched stiff with sugar after they were finished. Keeping them wrapped had kept them clean for the most part, but once in a while she would wash and restarch a flake or so when they looked dusty or dingy.

Her mind this morning was not on the task at hand, but the dinner party that night. She had been invited to the party at the Notts every year since she and Theo had started working in the same department. Jacque always created a masterpiece. It was a formal dinner party, intimate and select company, unlike the free-wheeling one that Harry and Ginny had given the night before. It didn't make either better than the other, just different and comforting.

Ginny and Janice had found the dress she would be wearing tonight when they shopped for the gown for the Malfoy Ball. She had seen the gown on a rack that the others had eschewed for the more formal ball. It was a simple white jersey gown that hung from a gold braided choker that was about 4 inches wide. It was sleeveless and there was a slit in the back of skirt that rose to mid-thigh. The simplicity of the gown made it an accessory rather than the showpiece. Hermione planned to wear her hair up in a tight bun with only a couple of strands sneaking out in strategic places. She would accessorize the gown with gold strappy sandals, gold knot ear studs and a gold clutch. She would wear her warm black "Russian" cloak while going to and from the soiree.

After the last snowflake had been put on the tree, Hermione went to the kitchen to make her usual French toast and peppered bacon Saturday breakfast. Looking out the window she saw an owl. This was not Precious, Ginny's and Harry's owl, but a beautiful, magnificent eagle owl that she had seen before. She opened the window to let it in. There was a package in its mouth that it dropped next to Hermione and held out its leg for her to remove the parchment roll that was neatly tied on with a green ribbon. She untied the ribbon and gave the owl a piece of the hickory smoked, peppercorn bacon. _"I wonder if it gives this one gas like it does Precious?" _she thought.

She read the note, _"I hope this will be an asset to your ensemble for tonight. See you there." _At the bottom was the usual signature that Hermione had begun calling "Holly and Heart". Hermione ran a finger over the beautiful calligraphy and then turned the page over. _"This owl's name is Demosthenes. D." _She smiled at the appropriate name he had given his owl. He had no longer included a note to open right away because she knew he wanted her to do so upon receipt. She untied the green ribbon that closed the box and lifted the lid. Inside was a Tiffany blue box which held a beautiful gold braid hairclip with seven small diamonds tragically placed along its length. It was curved and would fit perfectly around one side of the bun she would be putting her hair into.

Hermione took a piece of parchment from the kitchen desk and wrote, "Thank you for the perfect gift to wear tonight. You are so thoughtful. H."Biting thoughtfully on the end of her pen, _"Stop that Hermione," _she reprimanded herself, she reread the note. She then added, "p.s. Hope that peppercorn bacon doesn't give Demosthenes gas like it does Precious, the Potter's owl." After eating a leisurely breakfast and washing the dishes Hermione went to her study. She was reading a tome lent to her from Hogwarts for the research at work. She had not told them at the Ministry of the loan or they would either take advantage and ask for more books or they would want even more hours of research.

Stepping out of the shower later in the day, Hermione pulled on a lacy beige bra with matching knickers and short slip. She sat down in front of her mirror to blow her hair dry. Next she slipped on fuzzy green frog slippers and a fluffy green bath robe. Tying the belt on the robe, she entered the kitchen.

She had eaten a late breakfast, but it was still two hours until supper and if she were offered a cocktail before when she arrived at the Notts, she would be loopy in no time. She took a box of club crackers from the cupboard and a cheese ball from the refrigerator. This was one of her mother's tricks, eat or drink dairy before alcohol to provide protein. She didn't know if this was true, but it seemed to help. This also helped her not to eat so many hors d'oeuvres before dinner. The cheese ball was a holiday favorite and ready for drop-in company. The recipe sounded weird because it had sharp cheddar cheese, cream cheese, pineapple, chopped pimento, onion and Worcestershire sauce in it. It was rolled in pecans. The taste was out of this world.

Hermione finished her snack and returned to the dressing room. She slipped into the sandals, and then went to finish her hair. She made the tight bun with three tendrils hanging down on each side, not symmetric, of course, and then used a curling iron to give them direction. Last she put in the gold knot studs and the beautiful Tiffany clip Draco had sent. It was not centered in the front or back, but slightly to one side. Slipping the dress carefully over her head, Hermione reached up and clasped the gold choker band. She put on a small amount of make-up, paying careful attention to her eyes. She put on a dark smoky brown near her nose, a lighter brown in the middle and gold at the corner, and then smudged it with her pinky finger to blend the colors. The liner and mascara were both sultry black.

Hermione checked the time and grabbed her cloak from the closet. She picked up the invitation which served as a portkey that would take her to the Notts travelling room as was the case of some older mansions it was in a separate building for extra security. It also held the apparition point for entry of close friends and family. House elves, members of the family or opening wards allowed exit onto the path to the house. There was a winding path from the entry point up a graveled walk that had been charmed to be dry and smooth in spite of the weather. The walk led to the massive carved oak entry doors of the stone mansion. To either side of the path were manicured holly hedges, their prickly leaves encouraging walkers to remain on the path. Over the top of the hedge one could see the carefully planted formal gardens. Since Hermione had been here before for informal occasions she knew that there were informal gardens and play yards for the children at the back.

The doors were flung wide by Theo as he had been alerted to her approach. "On time, Hermione," Theo kissed the witch on each cheek in greeting, "never early and definitely never fashionably late, you are the perfect guest. If you will give your cloak to Itsy, you can go on through to the drawing room where Jacque has cocktails set up. I need to greet Pansy and Marcus. By the way, Ginny and Harry arrived just before you.

Hermione's heels clicked on the slate and marble tiled hallway as she made her way to the drawing room. As she passed the library an arm snaked out and grabbed her waist to pull her in. "Draco, you startled me!" she squealed as he planted a kiss on the nape of her neck.

"Just wanted to see the most gorgeous witch in the world before anyone else had a chance to ogle her," he said, "and you are." He turned her and kissed her lips.

"Thank you for the hair clip," Hermione said. "You really shouldn't have done it. It is so expensive."

The grey eyes looked deeply into the chocolate eyes and the blond said, "You told me that you didn't want a Christmas gift from me, but you said nothing about before Christmas gifts."

They exited the library and made their way to the drawing room. The Flints had been the last to arrive so they and Theo had joined the party just after Draco and Hermione had entered the room. Jacque had a pitcher of Scarlet O'Hara's* for those who wanted a festive red cocktail, for the others she had butterbeer, firewhisky, or sherry. Hermione accepted a stemmed glass of the tart cocktail and silently cast a wandless shield spell that would repel spills on her white dress. The twelve couples engaged in lively conversation until they were called to dinner.

Jacque had done the whole house in white, green and silver decorations. The centerpieces were low and conducive to conversation. The soup course was a tasty cold pumpkin soup and it was followed by a baked salmon fish course. The entrée was a prime rib roast with accompanying Yorkshire pudding and thin green asparagus spears. The salad course was a bed of mixed greens topped with mushrooms, boiled egg and crisp bacon all chopped neatly and dressed with a raspberry vinaigrette. For dessert the guests had a choice of individual mince pies or pumpkin pies or a slice of Black Forest cake. As with formal dinners there were entirely too many lovely courses and coordinating wines.

Hermione chose the mince pie and Draco the Black Forest cake. He savored the deep chocolate and made a suggestive gesture that none except Hermione noticed as he slid a sweet cherry into his mouth and closed his eyes as he tasted the luscious bite. Hermione choked on a raisin in her bite of the mince pie that she swallowed unchewed as she watched him. She recovered quickly by taking a sip of the wine that had accompanied the pie and turned her attention back to the table talk.

The conversation had turned to the new vocational education courses that would be offered since three members of the committee were present and their brains could be picked. The discussion turned into a game of one-upsmanship where each person was trying to think of a new class to be added to the curriculum. "Librarian." "Race car driving." "Film editor." "Pilot." The suggestions then went to the absurd. "Hooker." "Drug dealer." "Mob boss." "Stripper."

"Come on, you are just allowing your imaginations get carried away on a river of wine," laughed Hermione. "Seriously how many of you want your daughters to be strippers or your sons dealing drugs?"

"It's better than your sons stripping," stated Marcus. They all laughed knowing that profession was already in existence in Knockturn Alley along with the other nefarious ones mentioned. "Why does anyone think that someone would need to learn how to be a Librarian? You just sit there and yell, 'Quiet!'"

"In reality, we will be adding more classes each year to meet the needs of the students," said Hermione. "As for Librarians, they need to know what information is in the books and where to find the information easily for the users. In the muggle world a lot of that can be found online, but there is still a lot of information that needs to be found in books. Shushing students is not all they do. It is much like knowing the inventory of your business."

Jacque seriously offered, "You should really add muggle crafts to the extracurricular activities at Hogwarts. Did you see the tatted snowflakes she brought me?" Jacque called Itsy to bring the hostess gift Hermione had brought.

She opened the box to show the other guests. Ginny said that she had received some earlier in the week. The ladies looked at the intricate loops that made the lace. Some of the men present feigned interest, then Blaise asked, "Can you make anything else? These stitches are as beautiful as the finest goblin-made lace."

"I can make the lace as big as needed, but most often it is used for trim," Hermione humbly replied. "It takes a while to make because it is not made by magic, but with a shuttle and thread."

The conversation turned to Quidditch and the men adjourned to the game room for brandy and cigars while the ladies returned to the drawing room.

"Do you think you could teach someone to make the lace?" asked Pansy.

Hermione answered, "I taught Rose, just as my grandmother taught me."

"Didn't you say that Rose was working two jobs for peanuts?" the dress designer and shop owner asked.

"Yes, and it is stressing her out. She complained the other day that she and Scorp hardly saw each other."

"Can you give me her number or do I need to send an owl?"

"She has a mobile," Rose's mother replied and gave Pansy the number.

As the men joined the women, Draco noticed the conspiratorial look between his witch and his friend. "What's up, Hermione?" he whispered in her ear.

"I think Pansy is going to hire Rose to make lace."

* * *

><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 21 prompt: <strong>Mince pies

**A/N: ***A Scarlet O'Hara is made with cranberry juice, Rose's lime juice and Southern Comfort, hence the tartness of the drink.


	24. Ch 23 Caroling, Caroling

**Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to J.K. Rowling.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 23.<strong>

**Caroling, Caroling**

Hermione pulled on her black low-heeled, knee-high leather boots. She took her black Cossack style cloak out of the cloak closet and slid her arms through the sleeves. Reaching back in she pulled out a matching black fur hat and muff, along with black leather gloves rimmed with black fur. She quickly cast a warming spell on her feet, hat and gloves. Throwing the strap of her black bag over her shoulder and picking up the bag of presents for her parents, she stepped out into the chill. She turned the corner and got into the bright red mini with a British flag on the roof.

Pulling up in front of her parent's house, Hermione beeped the horn. Her parents came out also dressed for the weather. Her dad got into the back seat and her mother into the front. "I've been looking forward to this all week," Jean Granger said.

"I know," responded Hermione. "There is something so Dicksonian about Christmas caroling."

"You always loved it," added her dad, "even when you were a child. Are you going to do that secret warming thing for your mom so her feet and hands don't get cold?"

"No, Dad," laughed Hermione, "I am going to let you both turn to icicles to cool the cider afterwards."

When she pulled up into the church parking lot and shut off the car, Hermione turned and charmed her mother's and father's gloves and boots to keep them warm. Her parents had finally come to terms with the fact that sometimes magic was useful and allowed minimal amounts to be used around them.

The trio joined the group of parishioners and were given loose-leaf folders of music, "Hello, Hermione," greeted her old choirmaster, "we are pleased you could join us today."

"You know that in all my years, I have only missed one," she reminded Mr. Stevens. She was thinking of the year she went to Godric's Hollow with Harry.

The last two cars pulled into the car park and the choir was joined by six more singers. "We will be going around the neighborhood and stopping longest at the extended care center. We will come back and there will be stew and hot chocolate to warm us."

"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," the carol singers intoned as they started on their way down the street. They sang a different carol at each stop along the way then followed by "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". At the care center they were invited in and sang three songs in the sitting room near a tall tree before they sang the finale. Each of the carol singers was given a small tin of biscuits as they filed out.

Upon returning to the church, the carolers entered the church hall and shed their coats. Hermione made a quick trip to the loo to try to tame her hair. Since it was impossible, she changed the warming charm to a cooling one and put her hat back on. _"Sometimes you can't do anything about hat hair except put a hat on it and call it good," _she thought.

Her father had gotten her a bowl of the stew and brown scones. One of the ladies of the Guild brought by a large mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallows and served each of the choristers. Various friends stopped by to catch up on Hermione's news and wish her well. Sated with both food and conversation the family went back to the mini.

* * *

><p>"Are you coming in?" Dave asked.<p>

Hermione replied that she had brought their Christmas gifts and would be coming in for a little while. As she took off her cloak and hung it on the hall rack her mobile went off. "Hello, Draco," Hermione answered, "what are you doing?"

"Talking to you."

"We just finished caroling and returned to Mom's and Dad's house," she said.

Draco asked, "Do you think I could pop over then drive home with you?"

"That would be wonderful," the witch answered trying not to sound too anxious to see him.

"In a minute."

"Mom," Hermione called, "that was Draco and he is in the neighborhood. He wondered if he could stop by and ride home with me. I told him that it was fine."

During Rose's and Scorpius' engagement the Malfoys and the Grangers had become acquainted. Since they had been involved in many of the activities surrounding the marriage it wasn't unusual to see Draco's parents and Hermione's conversing. Hermione and Draco had decided that the various holiday activities would be a good time to be seen together and allow others to get used to their being a couple.

Five minutes later Hermione heard the familiar pop of apparition and waited for the bell to ring. When it did she rose from her seat in the family room to greet Draco. "You look so Gryffindor," he whispered when he saw her red dress belted in gold. He kissed her ear sending shivers down her spine.

"And you look so Slytherin," she replied as she took his coat. He was wearing black slacks. His green shirt had the cuffs turned up once and the open button at the neck revealed a silver chain with a snake pendant on it. Over the shirt he had a darker green v-neck vest.

When they entered the family room, Dave rose to shake Draco's hand. Then Draco went over and gave Jean a kiss on the cheek. "You are the most beautiful Granger woman I know," he greeted her. "It shows me how gracefully your daughter will age. You could be taken for sisters."

"Always the charmer, Draco," Jean replied.

"If I didn't know any better, I would think you were flirting with my wife," Dave said as he handed Draco a snifter of brandy. "We were just warming up after the carol singing."

Much later, Hermione noticed that her father was holding back a yawn. "I think we should be going," she told Draco. "Mom, Dad, I left your presents under the tree. I will call you in the morning." She rose as Draco returned with her cloak. He had already put on his and buttoned it up.

* * *

><p>"Do you want to drive?" she asked as they went to the car. He had gotten a license years ago and drove from time to time.<p>

"No, you can," Draco replied. "You are much better at that than I am. Just one more thing…"

"Just more practice," she said as she put the key into the ignition.

"I saw three ships come sailing in on Christmas Day in the morning…" came through the radio speakers.

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><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 22 prompt:<strong> carol singers


	25. Ch 24 Fleur-de-Lis

**Disclaimer: The characters in ths story belong to J.K. Rowling.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 24.<strong>

**Fleur-de-Lis**

"Mom, can we come through?" asked Rose in a floo call.

Hermione was fixing Sunday morning breakfast and remembering the wonderful ending to the night before. Draco had accompanied her home and they had cuddled and talked until the wee hours of the morning only breaking to share a kiss from time to time. Then he had said good night and gone back to his flat.

Hermione had lain awake until almost dawn reliving the events of the evening and trying to figure out what her emotions were trying to tell her brain. She had not felt so alive since the beginnings of her relationship with Ron. With Ron they had not lasted past the birth of Hugo and they had gradually grown apart. Each had their own agenda and was stubbornly clinging to their positions throughout the remainder of their marriage. They rarely fought. In fact, they rarely even talked in the last few years of the relationship. They were the proverbial ships passing in the night. Hermione was wary of committing herself to a relationship that might end. Her emotions told her it might not while her brain argued that she didn't know.

"Come on through, I am baking a strata for brunch since I was out late," Hermione answered the floo call.

"Did you make sticky buns, too?" asked Scorpius as he stepped out of the floo.

"When did I ever serve strata without sticky buns?" answered his mother-in-law, placing a kiss on his cheek and hugging and kissing her daughter. "I wanted someone to share with. The coffee just finished, so why don't you pour, Rose?" Then directing Scorpius with an oven mitt, "Set up the breakfast nook for three while I get this out of the oven," Hermione said.

Hermione's mobile rang the alert for a text message. "Check that for me, Rose. My hands are full of hot dishes."

"Good morning, Gorgeous! Want brunch? 3," Rose read aloud. "Mom, are you seeing someone seriously after all this time?"

"Yes," was the short answer from her mother.

"There is even a heart emoticon! When can we meet him? Why the secrecy? When were you going to tell us?" The questions fell fast and furiously from the young witch.

"More importantly you should ask do we know him and will we like him," stated Scorpius.

Hermione blushed, "You know him; you like him; we just wanted to be certain before we came out…" before she could add "as a couple" Rose interrupted, "you aren't gay are you?"

"No, I most certainly am not gay. Rose just send a text reply in real words and ask him to join us for brunch here."

Rose sent the text reply as Hermione pulled the sticky buns from the oven and Scorpius poured another mug of coffee.

"Mom, can I come over," Hugo floo called. "It is getting nuts here because everyone is trying to get ready to go to the Burrow for dinner. Grandma Molly said that right now brunch is too hard to handle with everything else going on."

"Whoops, that was the message I forgot to give you," said Rose.

"Come on through, Hugo," his mother called. "It's okay, she owled me yesterday. That's why I had a strata and sticky buns ready here. I was going to take them there until they cancelled." With traffic cop efficiency, Hermione directed, "Set one more place, pour one more mug of coffee and I will get the pumpkin juice out."

"If we have anyone else, we will have to move to the dining room," Rose pointed out.

Hugo stepped out of the fireplace, hugged and kissed his mother, hugged his sister and shook hands with his brother-in-law, "Sticky buns and strata! Wow, what could make a self-invite to brunch better!"

"Ps-s-s-s-t, Hugo," Rose whispered as Hermione left the kitchen to freshen up before the meal, "did you know she is seeing someone?"

He nodded his head and sat down at the table. "She has been so melancholy since she found out we were not going to be here on Christmas, then suddenly she cheered up. That's what it must have been," he whispered back.

The three at the breakfast table heard the whoosh of the floo and saw the green flash through the doorway. "Hello, Sweetheart," cooed Draco as Hermione met him in the living room.

She returned his kiss, then said, "We are being outed to our children this morning. They are all here for brunch."

"Thanks for the warning." The tall blond man walked into the kitchen, "don't get up." He greeted what looked like his younger self, "Good morning, Scorpius." Turning to his daughter-in-law he kissed her cheek, "Good morning, Rose." He nodded to the red-headed young man, "Good morning, Hugo." Turning to Hermione he said, "I brought you another ornament for your tree." He handed her a small box.

"Please have a seat, Draco. We were just sitting down. I do want to start another pot of coffee before I settle." She put the box on her plate.

After using the time while the others were serving themselves and she was making coffee, Hermione gathered her thoughts and decided to let her emotions beat her brain this time. She sat down and squeezed Draco's hand under the table. She removed the green and silver ribbon from the white box. Inside was something fragile because it was wrapped in an inordinate amount of bubble-wrap and then tissue paper. Removing all the wrappings, Hermione carefully extracted a Waterford crystal fleur-de-lis with the year etched into one side and "To H From D" on the other. "Oh, Draco, it's truly beautiful!" Hermione exclaimed with tears in her eyes. Then she kissed his surprised lips right then and there in front of their children. He returned the kiss with a little more ardor than anyone present expected.

"Ahem, Draco," said Hugo in his most grown up voice, "what are your intentions toward our mother?"

"Yes, Dad," echoed Scorpius, "are you serious about your relationship? Are you going to treat her with the utmost respect and honor?"

Draco laughed, then put on a serious face, not quite hiding the glint in his eyes, "Hugo, I intend to date your mother as long as she will let me. And Scorpius where are your loyalties?"

"She is my mother-in-law and I promised to look out for her interests when I hitched my wagon to Rose's star."

"Then, Scorp," his father answered soberly, "I hope our relationship is serious and I will treat her like the lady she is."

"And no unauthorized sleep-overs!" put in Rose. "What, Mom? Isn't that what you told me before Scorp and I were engaged?" Then she asked, "When did she first interest you, Draco?"

"When she punched me in the nose in third year," he deadpanned. "But let me tell you she was the most beautiful girl at the Yule Ball in our fourth year."

"Why do you say that?" Scorpius asked. "Didn't you go with Aunt Pansy?"

Draco paused with a glint in his eye and pretended to think, "Yes, I went with Pansy and that was a disaster, but it was mostly my fault. When the music started and the Triwizard Champions and their dates paraded in it was amazing. Cedric Diggory's partner was Cho Chang. Then Fleur Delacourt from Beauxbatons came in with Roger Davis, a Ravenclaw. Harry's date was Parvati Patil, whose twin sister, Padma, incidently went with Ron. Then most famous Quidditch player in the world, seeker for the Bulgarian National Team, and Triwizard Champion from Durmstrang Institute, Victor Krum entered with the most beautiful witch in the school. His date was Hermione Granger. Her dress for the Yule Ball was a bluish-purply colour. She was breathtaking and all the wizards there wished she was their date, especially me."

"Oh, Draco," Hermione said, "I didn't know."

"At least, I know who she is going to the Malfoy New Year's Eve Ball with and it isn't Krum."

"That went better than I had expected," Draco whispered in Hermione's ear, then gave it a quick nip causing her to jump.

"Sometimes you are just happy that your parents are finally growing up and dating," smirked Scorpius.

After all the food had been either eaten, or put away for later in the case of the rest of the sticky buns, and the dirty dishes put into the dishwasher, they moved the party to the living room. Rose brought up the rear with a hot pad and the fresh pot of coffee. Hermione went to the dish of ornament hangers took a pure white ribbon and ran it through the loop at the top of the fleur-de-lis and then attached a hanger. She put it in a place of prominence on the tree and went to her favorite seat on the sofa. Draco was sitting beside her and he put a protective arm around her shoulders. Scorpius and Rose had taken places on the love seat and Hugo was in the recliner.

"Oh, I almost forgot why Scorpius and I came over," said Rose. "Pansy Parkinson-Flint called me this morning and wanted to know if I would like to work for them making tatted and crocheted lace for their Lavender Pansy collection. They are going to pay me enough to quit both my jobs and depending on how much demand is created once the first pieces are on the market." Rose went on to explain that there would be the formality of interview and paperwork tomorrow morning, but Pansy already made her an offer. Pansy did say that you told her I learned to tat from you and she liked what she had seen of your work.

"That's great, Rosie!" Draco exclaimed.

"When do you start?" Hugo asked.

"Scorp and I are going to the craft store for supplies and I am starting while we are at Grandpa Arthur and Grandma Molly's tonight. You know, while everyone is sitting around visiting." Then she added, "So, Mom, are you and Draco going to Arthur and Molly's together this evening?"

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><p><strong>Advent Calendar Day 23 prompt: <strong>Yule Ball

**A/N**: Strata is made in layers of bread, cooked sausage, cheese, bread, cooked sausage, cheese, etc. to fill a casserole dish. A beaten egg/milk mixture is poured over the top and allowed to marinate, refrigerated over night and then baked the next day.


	26. Ch 25 Guardian Angel

**Disclaimer: All characters in this story were created by J.K. Rowling.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 25.<strong>

**Guardian Angel**

The clock was chiming twelve o'clock. It was noon. Hermione opened the last ornament box. It was a little over 30 centimeters high and about 15 centimeters square. Inside was a crocheted angel. The angel nearly filled the box because of her full skirt and the width and height of her wings. The head and torso was a crocheted ball stuffed with cotton batting. The rest of the angel and wings were merely the crocheted lace. The angel was made with white polished cotton thread and sugar starched to stand straight and tall. The skirt fit down perfectly over the top of the tree.

Hermione's Great-Grandmother Granger had made the angel for Hermione as the last Christmas present from her. It was wrapped and under the tree even though her great-grandmother had passed away in the spring. In the last stages of her life Great-Grandmother Granger had dementia and was not always aware of who was visiting her, but she always remembered Hermione. During their last visit, Hermione had cried and said that she would miss her. Great-Grandmother Granger had hugged her tightly and told her that she was not leaving Hermione because she was going to be a guardian angel, just for her.

"_While Hermione had been at Hogwarts she had left the angel on her bookshelf overlooking her bed. Whenever anyone asked what it was, they were merely told that it was her guardian angel. When she had gone back to the dorm after the "Troll Incident of 1st year" Hermione told her guardian angel thank you for protecting her and giving her two new friends. After she had awoken from being petrified she told the guardian angel, "Thank you for being there to talk with me while I couldn't talk with anyone else." The angel went everywhere in Hermione's trunk throughout her Hogwarts years. She had shrunken it and put it into the beaded bag when they were on the horcrux hunt. She talked to her at night when the boys were standing watch or during the day when they were scrounging food. Hermione knew the crocheted angel wasn't a real guardian angel, but she represented the comfort of knowing someone loved her unconditionally and wanted her to be safe._

_After the war, Hermione had washed and bleached the angel, and then she starched it stiff again. She had to repair a couple of places where the thread had broken, but unless you were an expert at the needlework you couldn't know it. She kept it in the special box during the year. On every Christmas Eve since the war she would get the guardian angel out of and place it at the top of her Christmas tree at noon, afterward she would go over to the Burrow for the Christmas Eve festivities."_

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><p>The sound a floo call awoke Hermione from her reverie. "Are you ready to go?"<p>

"Just about, Draco," she replied, "let me get my jumper and presents. Come on through."

"Wow, I don't know which sight is more beautiful, you or the tree," he complemented. He pulled her to him and gave her a long sensuous kiss that held the promise of deepening if allowed to continue.

She pulled back and said, "Presents."

"When did you put the angel on top?" he asked.

"I did that at noon," Hermione told him. "Great-Grandmother Granger gave me that as a last Christmas present from her. She is my guardian angel."

"The one on the tree or your great-grandmother?" he asked, teasingly.

"Both," she replied. "Let's go."

Draco and Hermione entered the Burrow one after another and were greeted warmly by one and all. Hermione put the presents under the tree with the rest while Draco wandered with familiarity to the back yard to join the Quidditch match. Rose cheered because she could return to her usual position as chaser while her father-in-law took over as the seeker of team 2. All members of team 1 had been Gryffindors. Team 1 had charmed their jerseys red, of course, while team 2 was in blue. It was a mixed team of Gryffindors, Slytherins, Ravenclaws and Beauxbatons. Harry was seeker for team 1 and Ron was keeper. Fleur was a chaser and Albus was keeper for team 2. George and Angelina were beaters for team 1 while Scorpius and Charlie were beaters for team 2. James, Teddy, Victoria, Ginny and Louis were the remaining Chasers. Hermione was content to help Molly prepare the meal while Arthur was in charge of setting up the table. The remaining members of the family were given various tasks from helping with the food and table set up to watching the younger ones.

A cheer from the crowd said that somebody had caught the snitch. It was preordained that it would be Harry, for Draco, as good as he was, never beat Harry to the snitch. George and Charlie had a side bet every year on the game and an side bet on whether or not Draco would beat Harry to the snitch. This time George was handing five Galleons over to Charlie as they entered the house. Draco had done it finally and rewarded Charlie's faith in him with George's money.

The table was piled high to groaning with turkey, prime rib, and ham. There were sweet potatoes, mashed white potatoes, three kinds of dressing, peas, beans and Brussels sprouts. There were the two trays of "assessories" that Hermione had brought, about a third of which had disappeared before the family was called to dinner. For dessert were pumpkin, mince, apple and cherry pies. Hermione always brought the red muggle gelatin salad made with applesauce in one layer, cream cheese in the middle and raspberries in the top layer. They laughed about the first time she brought it. They continued to do so every year, but they ate all of it every time. After dinner, they cleared the table, set the dishes to washing and moved into the sitting room for present time.

With all of the extended family, the Weasleys decided that it would be too expensive to buy for each person, so they made gifts for everyone.

Molly still knitted sweaters for her children, their spouses, their children and her husband. Each family still had the original colours of the children, for example Ron, Lavender, Hugo, Rose and Joel had maroon sweaters with their initial in gold. Harry and Ginny, James, Albus and Lily had green with a gold initial and so on. These were what they called first degree Weasleys. Second degree Weasleys were the spouses of the grandchildren, the great-grand children and the exes of the children. These are the recipients of hat and mitten sets in the colour of the relationship with gold initials on each piece. Third degree Weasleys were the in-laws of the children and grandchildren and they received scarves in the appropriate color and there was a gold initial at the end of each tail. All of the rest of the Weasley relatives and friends received potholders and dish cloths for the women and men alike.

Rose was so proud to give each pair a patterned quilted ball, while crazy quilt ones went to each child or single. Everyone exclaimed appropriately over the handwork. She turned to Lavender and nodded. Lavender cleared her throat and announced, "You have received a gift from the newest staff member of _Tres Chic. _Rose will be making lace exclusively displayed on the creations of the Lavender Pansy line."

Wolf whistles and applause drowned out any chance of further announcements from Lavender and Rose. Scorpius Malfoy beamed with pride in his wife's accomplishment. "How long have you known?" asked Molly as soon as the din had quieted to a dull roar.

"Since Sunday," said Rose, "and the best part is that I already started tatting lace for them. I was able to quit my two jobs and will have more time with my Honey."

Lavender added, "With her speed and the quality of the lace we should have a full line for our next showing. She is an asset and her light was hiding under a waitress uniform and a hotel maid's cloak."

Gifts continued to be handed around. There were pictures painted, drawn or coloured by some of the children and clay vases molded by others. Fleur had made French bon-bons with Bill's help. Charlie brought dragon's hide wallets for all. (He said there had been an outbreak of illness and a couple of the dragons had died. They had skinned them out and all of the tamers were given hides as bonus for the extra work in keeping the rest of the dragons from dying as well. When it was determined that it was not contagious, the meat and bones had been meted out and the dragon's heart strings went to wand makers.) Audrey and Percy had sewn placemats for each person in attendance. Ron and Lavender had brought tins of biscuits that they said Hugo had helped make. George and Audrey had brought fireworks for the end of the festivities.

Then Hugo handed out the clothespeg reindeer ornaments. He told the story of "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and taught all to sing the song. Before the night was done, more than one reindeer would go into battle and come out headless (_thank Merlin for sticking charms so they could be fixed_).

Hermione handed out the tatted snowflakes, and then gave Lavender and Ron Christmas stocking and the "Polar Express" book for Joel. She had charmed the bell to only be heard by children and Joel his whole life, just as she had done for Hugo sixteen Christmases ago. The seventeen year-old sat cross-legged on the floor with the new baby in his lap. He picked up the book and told the newborn the story of "believing" while all watched on. Hermione whispered to Ron that Hugo would be a good Dad, just like him someday, then she leaned back from her seat on the floor into the space between Draco's legs. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

Last Draco stood, carefully so as to not walk on Hermione's skirt, "I didn't make my gift personally, but I do own the vineyard. Here are bottles of wine for the adults and grape juice for the children. Now from the extras, let's fill the glasses and I would like to propose a toast." After the glasses were filled he said, "Merry Christmas to the best family I could have never expected to be a part of. Thank you for your warm welcome and adopting me along with my son."

Suddenly the fireworks provided by George exploded prematurely in the yard.


	27. Ch 26 Baby Jesus

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the characters in this story. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 26.<strong>

**Baby Jesus**

It was just a half a walnut shell with a dime store baby wrapped in a tiny piece of flannel. A length of fishing line was knotted and laid in the walnut shell first, then a dot of hot glue. On top of that was a small amount of straw. Last was another the dot of glue and the baby. When the glue was set the baby could be hung over the branch of a Christmas tree. This precious gift had been made by Hermione in her Sunday School class when she was five. The teacher only let one of the children use the glue gun at a time so they would not burn themselves on the hot glue or the glue gun. Hermione had been so excited while she waited in line to use the glue gun that she had assembled and disassembled her Baby Jesus a half dozen times holding the nut shell in her hot little hand. The pieces seemed to stick each time she put them in and pulled them out. When it was her turn she stepped up and went to disassemble the nut manger so the glue could be applied, but to her horror it wouldn't come apart. The teacher tried and finally told her that she must have already glued hers. She went to her seat and cried.

Hermione cried all of the rest of the class; Hermione cried when the children came in for communion and were told to present their Baby Jesus for a blessing; Hermione cried when she gave it to her mother. She told everyone that the Baby could not be blessed because it wasn't glued it was only stuck. The kind priest knelt down and put his hand on Hermione's small hand and said, "God doesn't care whether it was stuck or glued. God only cared that Hermione had tried her best to make the present just like he had done when he gave his Son to the world." Then he blessed the walnut shell in Hermione's hands and pressed his hand to her head and blessed her also. "Blessed are the children…" He felt a warmth and saw a light in the little girl's eyes that showed recognition of the truth.

Hermione's mother had given her the "Jesus in a Walnut" back when she went to Hogwarts. She told Hermione it was a reminder to be kind and loving. She would look at it in bad times and good and repeat, "Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you."***** Hermione would sometimes remember the message of the priest when he blessed her and her Baby Jesus. She would try to take it apart, but it never would be unassembled no matter how hard she tried.

No matter what happened or where she went throughout her school years Hermione had the walnut in her pocket as a talisman. When she was on the run, it was the thing other than her wand that didn't go into the beaded bag. She never shrunk it, she never packed it away. It was in her pocket where she could grasp it for assurance that she was never alone.

The first thing that Hermione did every Christmas morning was put the Baby Jesus, the greatest gift of Christmas, on the tree. This year she stood there with the walnut half in her hand and contemplated how far she had come and thought of the promise of how far there was still to go and gave thanks for her life, her family, and friends. No, she wouldn't trade it for anything. She had been blessed along with her Baby Jesus that morning in church.

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><p><strong>*<strong> John 3:16


	28. Ch 27 Boxing Day

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the characters in this story.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 27.<strong>

**Boxing Day**

Hermione relaxed with her morning coffee. Today was Boxing Day and consequently it was a bank holiday and the government and businesses would be closed, even in the wizard world. A tap on her kitchen window alerted her to the arrival of the _Daily Prophet_. She took the paper, gave the owl five knuts and an owl treat. Then she sat back down at the breakfast table. Even after all this time there was much about the wizard world she didn't understand. First and foremost was the lack of real news in their newspapers. She muttered and tossed it aside and sipped the coffee again.

Last evening had been interesting to say the least. Where Christmas Eve with the Weasleys had been a relaxed family affair, Christmas evening with the Malfoys started out formal and a bit intimidating. The extended family had been much smaller, just Hermione, Ron and Lavender, Hugo and Joel, Rose and Scorpius, Draco, Narcissa and Lucius. From the first time Ron and Lavender had met Lucius and Narcissa when the children were engaged, they had been overwhelmed. The bad feelings of the war had waned but not the wariness so Ron was always nervous around them as well as Draco. Lavender was in awe of the elegance of the Manor and its Mistress and that also translated to nervousness. Working with Draco on boards and committees for the Ministry had made Hermione much more comfortable and the protocol of business translated to the more formal home setting of the wealthy. Hugo, being a schoolmate of Scorpius, though younger, was as much at ease as Rose had become. Joel was just perfect, a newborn baby who had no worry in the world as long as his mother and food source was nearby.

Gift giving to the wealthy was another problem, but they finally decided to do what they had for the Weasleys. Rose presented the elder Malfoys one of the two faux appliqué ornaments and Draco the other. Hugo had given the reindeer. Hermione had crocheted an angel and included a dozen tatted snowflakes. The gifts had been well received, but the gift of a scarf for Narcissa and cravat each for Draco and Lucius from the exclusive Lavender Pansy line seemed to be the gifts that raised the fewest eyebrows.

Narcissa and Lucius had given a beautiful silver cup and rattle to Joel. Ron and Lavender received a gift of a couple's night out with dinner and a hotel room to be redeemed when Joel was old enough to be left overnight. Hugo received the "most wonderful chess set in the world" from the Malfoys. They gave Scorpius and Rose a receipt for their flat rent for a year and a set of flatware to go with the "White china" that Hermione had given Rose. When they argued that they wanted to do for themselves, Lucius said that they should just put away what they would have spent on rent toward buying their first house. Scorpius also received a pair of dragon skin gloves for work from his father and a protective shirt from his grandparents. Rose had received a new cloak to wear to work at her new job. Hermione had been quietly asked to remain after the others had left by Draco.

The dinner had been elegant but by the time the second course arrived everyone had relaxed largely due to Joel interrupting for his dinner. A gracious Lucius had risen to pluck the crying baby from the cot where he lay near the diners and escorted Lavender to a private sitting room. When he returned he merely stated, "Hungry men need food, and the younger they are the more urgent it is. It's not the first nor the last time I have helped things along." With that he looked pointedly at Draco and Scorpius.

The fact that Draco had raised Scorpius as a single father had been largely forgotten because there just never was a woman in the picture. Only the immediate family knew the details of the ill fated marriage of Draco to his French-Canadian third cousin, Aimée de la Maison. It had been arranged and disastrous from the beginning. They had quietly divorced and she had returned to Quebec, but Scorpius had been left in Draco's care. With the help of his parents he felt he done a good job.

After dinner Ron and Lavender plead their leave, because of the young age of Joel. Shortly after the men had retired to the games room and the women had retired to the drawing room, Hugo, Scorpius and Rose gave their apologies for their early departure, but thanked everyone for the gifts. Thinking back Hermione decided it had been carefully orchestrated for the "talks" that followed.

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><p>"I'll get straight to the point, Draco," Lucius said and took a puff on his cigar for effect before continuing, "what are your intentions regarding Scorpius mother-in-law? Better yet, what is going on and for how long?"<p>

Running his hand through his blond hair to give himself time to pull his thoughts together, Draco slowly began, "I had only seen Hermione at work and on various committees until we were caught up in the turmoil of the wedding. The more we saw of each other, the more comfortable with each other's company we became. We officially started seeing each other and going out in company this season. Nothing is going on, yet." There was a pregnant pause and he continued, "We weren't certain how the kids would take it if we were to have a relationship. She said that since we were just friends that we shouldn't exchange Christmas gifts, so I decided to woo her with small gifts left where she would find them. I had no clue when she was aware it was me, but it seems to have gone well. Last week I had brunch with her and the kids and they were all fine and later Scorp told me that it was about time I made a move."

Lucius let out a chuckle, "Children have a way of seeing right through our motives, even when we don't. I wasn't the best father, but I truly have tried to be a better grandfather and by extension father to you."

"Anyway as to my motives, they are pure," then he laughed, "as pure as a wizard can be when a beautiful witch is involved. I hope that we will establish a relationship and I would not reject the idea of marriage down the road. But for now, I really do enjoy her company. Hermione is the wittiest, smartest, most clever witch I know. I love to talk with her and I love to spar with her when words are the weapons. If I were in a battle, there is nobody I would rather have watching my back. She is extremely loyal and protective of those she cares for. Does that explain it?"

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><p>In the drawing room a similar discussion had taken place. "Hermione, I hope you know that we have come to respect and like you very much," Narcissa started. "Though he doesn't show it, Draco's pride was sorely devastated by the failure of his marriage. He should have never been pushed into a marriage so soon after the war, but his father and I felt it would help him heal."<p>

Hermione nodded. Narcissa continued, "Aimee was a mistake all around. Being from Canada she did not understand what he had gone through. She was very cruel about calling him a traitor and a criminal though he had been tried and found not guilty. She did not want to have children and when Scorpius was conceived she began to make plans to leave. She is a talented artist and wanted the Bohemian life that was necessary to culture the following to become famous while still living. The divorce settlement gave Draco permanent and full custody of Scorpius and her enough Galleons to last the rest of her life. Both were happy with the arrangement."

Hermione was shocked at the matter-of-fact way Narcissa had talked about the settlement and it must have shown in her eyes. "In reality, it was a win-win situation because both had gotten what they wanted. Scorp knows and was angry at first, but he is aware that he is loved and his father would have settled much more on Aimee in order to have his son and his freedom."

They sipped their tea in silence, then Narcissa pled, "Please don't break my boy's heart."

"I have no intentions of causing such pain. He is the best thing that has happened to me in years," the younger witch explained. "We didn't want to move too fast and we wanted family and society to get used to seeing us together in places other than work before we announced a relationship."

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><p>"Ahem, this is certainly a serious discussion we are interrupting," stated Draco as the men entered the room. "There are still a couple of presents to be handed out before we leave," he told his parents. The first was a candid photograph that had been taken by Hugo at Scorpius' and Rose's wedding rehearsal dinner. It showed Draco with his arm laid comfortably over Hermione's shoulder as she replacing a loose comb in Rose's hair and Scorpius trying to take it away. It was framed in a simple wood frame to match the relaxed mood of the picture.<p>

He gave his father were two unique leather bound volumes. The first volume was spells and counter-spells and the second jinxes and counter-jinxes. All of these had never been cumulated and published together. In fact these had been cumulated and put together by Hermione and Draco from their joint knowledge following the war. It started as an addition to the Defense Against the Dark Arts curriculum. They were going to publish it for the school, but not in hand written copy in leather bindings.

They had found a rare first edition of poetry by wizards, witches and muggles for Narcissa. It had been published in the seventeenth century when the two worlds were becoming split almost irreconcilably.

Draco had received a piece of art for his flat that he had been wanting from his parents. The last box for him held an old railroad pocket watch that had belonged to Hermione's great-grandfather. "I thought we weren't going to buy each other Christmas presents, but thank you. I will treasure this," Draco said, his voice full of emotion.

"I didn't buy it," Hermione pointed out.

Draco handed her a jewelry case. "Mother and I chose this from the vault. I am certain that Father will agree that it will suit you. It is neither very old, nor one of the more expensive pieces there, but it is the most appropriate." Inside the box was a broach made up of five yellow roses and tied with a green ribbon. The roses were made up of small yellow topaz chips and the ribbon emeralds.

"We used to wear broaches like this on our robes for a touch of glamour," Narcissa explained.

Lucius elaborated, "Yellow roses represent friendship. We want you to know we cherish your friendship and more."

"I didn't buy it," Draco laughed.

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><p>Thinking back Hermione was very pleased with how the season had gone. She took another sip of her coffee and made a face since it had cooled during her reverie. With that she put the cup in the sink and went to check what Rose was wearing to the "Nutcracker" that evening.<p> 


	29. Ch 28 Ballet Shoes

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns these characters.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 28.<strong>

**Ballet Shoes**

Hermione clipped a blue topaz on her left ear to match the one already on the right. They matched the heart shaped blue topaz hanging from a thick silver chain that was around her neck. These were a gift from her parents a few years ago and the shade matched the chiffon gown that she had on. The gown was not new, but hadn't been worn for several years and Hermione had redone the top so it wasn't easily recognized. Hermione had grown up in a middle class family and the values she had then were the same now. You didn't waste anything that you could reuse. If you couldn't reuse it, you recycled it or gave it to some cause that could use it.

Hermione reached down and buckled the straps of her silver sandals around her ankles. She stood and straightened her skirt. Turning one way and another she checked to see if it was hanging straight. The skirt was flowing, but not overly full. The top had gone from being fitted with cap sleeves to a halter type with straps of the chiffon coming from the gathered cloth all around the waist. Each side came forward crossing over the breasts and clasping at the back of her neck with clasp leaving the back bare. She wore her hair down in loose waves with only the left side held back behind her ear by a silver clip.

She glanced up above her dressing table where hung the small white ballet shoes of her youth. She remembered taking her first steps on stage and how nervous she had been. She had not been a talented ballerina, but she had done her best and her parents had applauded loudest. She didn't make any mistakes and she had not lost her place, but her dancing was like reciting. Dancing for her was by rote. She had the mechanics, but she didn't have the heart or drive.

"Mom, we're here," Rose called. "Draco hired a car so we wouldn't have to park."

Hermione picked up a silver lacy shawl and her silver clutch from the bed and hurried out to greet her daughter. She went into the cloak closet and brought out a royal blue dress cloak. "You were sneaky giving me four tickets and keeping three. That nearly fills the box," she whispered in Draco's ear as he helped her put her cloak on.

"Of course," he whispered back, "I had to make certain I could also go."

"Mother and Father are meeting us there," Draco said. "Go on down to the car and wait with your hubby and brother, okay Rose?"

After Rose left, Draco pulled Hermione close and gave her a careful kiss, so that he would not muss her make-up. "I wanted to ask you to think about making our relationship more permanent, Hermione," he said. "Don't answer now, just think about it." He took her hand and led her out to the awaiting car.

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><p>During the intermission Rose turned to Narcissa and asked, "Did you know that my mother danced in the Nutcracker once?"<p>

"No, I didn't," her grandmother-in-law answered. "Would you please tell me about it?"

"She was five and had been taking lessons since she was three." Lucius moved closer to listen to the story. "The university was putting on the ballet for Christmas and her ballet school was asked to supply children for the ballet. She wore a white dress and for one scene it had a red velvet vest over it. She played one of the children at the party and in the last part she came out from under Mother Ginger's dress as one of her children. Her mother bought her brand new ballet shoes, but she had to wear them around for the week before the performance to break them in. She still has them hanging above her dressing table mirror. If you are ever at her flat she can show you pictures of her with the cast. Her hair had been braided and it was wrapped around her head so it wouldn't stick out."

Narcissa was not surprised to see the embarrassment creeping into Hermione's countenance. She was really an introvert that only put herself forward when she was nervous. The older witch had discerned over time that Hermione hadn't been the pushy, know-it-all that she had been the described as when a child, but one who was insecure. She reached over and took Hermione's hand and said, "Your daughter is so proud of you and you should be too."

As the intermission came to a close, Lucius asked Hermione which of the upcoming pieces was her favorite piece of music. Without a thought she said she liked the "Waltz of the Flowers" though most of people liked the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies". He agreed with her saying that the rhythms were more interesting.

Lucius moved closer and whispered conspiratorially, "So how did you do it?"

"Practiced a lot," answered Hermione pretending to not know what Lucius was asking about.

"And Draco?" he pushed.

"I didn't know he could dance ballet," she deadpanned.

"You know what I am talking about and are avoiding the topic," Lucius responded, "quite agilely, I might add. I think I am beginning to see."

"What are you two whispering about?" Narcissa also asked in hushed tones.

Hermione innocently replied, "Dueling." Then she added, "With words instead of wands."

Lucius cocked one arched eyebrow even higher and with a tone of triumph said, "Puzzles! You are a puzzle and he has to solve." He rose and exchanged chairs with Draco so he could sit next to Narcissa as the lights lowered for the second act.

Draco put his arm around Hermione's shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "Was my father's grilling so bad?" he whispered.

"No, we were just talking about ballet and sparring."

* * *

><p>They settled back for the rest of the ballet. Afterwards the party stepped out to find their car waiting. Lucius and Narcissa got into a second car. The party was moved to a second location for a late supper, at <em>Argent <em>the exclusive restaurant atop the _Hôtel Émeraude_.

As they waited for their appetizers, they sipped champaigne and discussed the dance. "It was even more impressive seeing it again as an adult," Draco said. He told the story of the trip to New York and the first time he had seen the ballet. "I would have loved to have seen Hermione in her ballet shoes dancing all those years ago."

"Mom has still pictures, but I think Grandpa Granger still has a video," said Hugo.

Hermione recalled, "Yes, but it is on film and the film is getting fragile over the years."

"Is it good enough to transfer to DVD?" asked Scorpius.

"It might be," replied Hermione.

"We will need to see that when it has been transferred," said Draco.

The food came and the conversation dwindled. Lucius stood and asked all to make certain that their champaigne glasses were full for he had a some of toasts to make. "First I would like to toast to Narcissa, my rock and my love. You, Cissy, make my life worthwhile and kept me from going crazy during the darkest of days."

"To Narcissa," the party echoed. "Thank you," Narcissa demurred.

"Second, I toast Draco. You are a better son than I am a father. When I lost my way you were finding yours. Thank you for bringing me back and showing me how to change."

"To Draco."

"I really don't deserve the accolade," he said modestly.

"You do," Hermione whispered.

"Third, I toast Rose and Scorpius. May your marriage bring you all the love you deserve. When the times are tough remember that you are in it together."

"To Rose and Scorpius."

"I toast Hermione. You have the most graceful, forgiving spirit I have ever encountered. For the your teenage years our family did nothing but give you grief, yet you have chosen to show us the way to redemption. You have shared your wonderful children with this family and made use better people for knowing you."

"To Hermione."

"Finally a toast to family, all of us sitting at this table are family. May we share many more happy times and lean on each other in bad. May our bonds grow over time." He looked at Draco with his arm around Hermione's shoulders and winked.

"To family," was the response to the final toast.


	30. Ch 29 Volunteering

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the characters in this story. Harry's story is paraphrased from Book 1.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 29.<strong>

**Volunteering**

The muggle news sounded out of Hermione's clock radio. Since the war, she liked to keep one eye on the muggle world because it served as a barometer on the storms of the wizard world. Hadn't the beginnings of the last two wars been shown in unsolved muggle murders followed by unexplained weather. She knew it was overkill, but somehow seemed to provide her some semblance of normalcy. Today was Sunday and she didn't have to go to work, but she had promised the Albus Dumbledore Orphanage and Home for Misplaced Wizard Children that she would come in and help with making and serving the noonday meal. Following that she would, in the tradition of Monks who read scripture during meals, read stories and tales, both muggle and wizard to the children. She tried to have a mixed selection for the various ages, but they all seemed to appreciate whatever she read. Today she was going to start "_Treasure Island"_ by Robert Louis Stevenson, but before that she would read several selections from his _"A Child's Garden of Verses"._ These always pleased the younger children and the mystery would provide enough suspense to keep the older children interested and quiet.

Hermione wore tan wool slacks and a blue and tan v-necked jumper over a white turtle neck. On her feet she had blue argyle socks and short brown lined boots for warmth. She had made extra shortbread, fruit scones and fudge while doing her usual Christmas baking. She packed the tins in her bag. Reaching into the cloak closet, she took a red parka out and after zipping it up and tying the hood and putting her gloves on, Hermione picked up the bag of food and her purse. She left the flat and apparated to the entrance of the orphanage.

"Miss Hermione, how are you this morning?" asked Mrs. Claredge.

Taking off her coat and hanging it up on a hook, "I am doing well. I brought goodies for post Christmas treats." She picked up a clean apron and slipped it on, and then easily moved to the counter and began preparing the vegetables to go in with the roast. While the roast was cooking she and Mrs. Claredge moved to the dining room where they were joined by Sarah and Jonah, two of the older children who had come to help set up for the noonday meal. They fell into easy banter and began to talk about Sarah's upcoming birthday.

"You are not ever going to be as old as I am," Jonah teased. She had been born on New Year's Day and would be eleven. Jonah had turned eleven in October.

"Like you are such an old man," Sarah retorted. "We will still be in the same Hogwarts year."

"Do you remember how it was when you got your Hogwarts letter?" Jonah asked Hermione.

Hermione smiled at the memory, "I didn't know that I was going to go to Hogwarts. I had already been enrolled in a Public Day School in Hammersmith. My parents were dentists, tooth doctors, in London and I grew up muggle and totally unaware of witches and wizards. Professor McGonagall brought my letter and explained what the school was to my parents and me."

"Wow!" Jonah exclaimed, "That must have been a really big surprise."

"Yes, it was," Hermione replied. "And now my own son and daughter have gone to Hogwarts. When Hugo finished in June it will be the end of another era."

"What did you do over the break, Miss Hermione?" Sarah asked.

"I went to lots of parties and dinners with my family and friends. My ex-husband and his wife had the cutest baby they named Joel."

"And you went to the Nutcracker Ballet with me," said Draco as he removed his cloak and places a quick kiss on Hermione's cheek. "Thought I might come and help so I could hear the stories." A few months earlier when he asked Hermione how she spent her time off from work she told him of helping at the Orphanage on Sundays so that some of the staff could take time off. He had been coming in from time to time since that. Draco had enjoyed helping out but he loved listening to Hermione read the stories with such gusto. He, like the children, was mesmerized by her voice and how she tried to make each character sound different from each other and the narration voice. The children's stories were a favorite of his because of the expressiveness of her readings.

"Yes, I went to the Ballet with you and I will be going the Malfoy New Year's Eve Ball with you as well," Hermione agreed. "We were talking about how Sarah and Jonah will be getting attending Hogwarts next fall. They wanted to know what it was like for me. I told them about the surprise we had."

"Well, I for one wasn't surprised to be going to Hogwarts, but it was a surprise to know that Harry Potter would be in my year," Draco stated. "We all knew that he was the boy-who-lived, but nobody knew where he was. One day Father came home from the Ministry and said that the Board of Governors had been informed that Potter's letter had finally reached him. I guess there was quite a bit of trouble delivering it."

Hermione laughed and then said, "Imagine being raised as a muggle, and an unwanted burden by an unforgiving aunt and her rigidly 'normal' husband who did not believe in imagination and receiving an owl out of the blue. It was a few days before his eleventh birthday. Harry's aunt knew what it was because her sister had attended Hogwarts, but his uncle was sure they could stamp the 'craziness' out of Harry if they were strict enough. All setting of the table stopped while Draco, Sarah, Jonah and Mrs. Claredge listened to this story. They had heard parts of it before and it had been written about in Luna Lovegood's book about the war and its various participants, but this was first hand information being imparted. "His Uncle Vernon tried to tear up the letter, but more came. Soon there were owls all around the house. Oh, I forgot to mention the first was addressed to Mr. Harry Potter, Cupboard Under the Stairs. Hogwarts knows exactly where you live. His relatives were shamed into moving him into his cousin's second bedroom, the one where Dudley stored all his broken stuff. The next letter was addressed to Mr. Harry Potter, Smallest Bedroom. Finally his uncle decided to flee and packed everyone off to the south of the country. Harry got a letter at the inn where they stopped. As a last resort his uncle rented a shack on a rock and a boat. He bought a little food, a couple of bags of crisps and candy bars if I remember right, and took the family out to the shack in a storm. They went to sleep, his aunt and uncle in the only bed, his cousin on the sofa and Harry on the floor with a thin blanket." Hermione made a dramatic pause in her story, and then she continued, "At midnight when Harry turned eleven, there was a banging on the door and then it broke down and in stepped Hagrid."

"That would have been quite a shock to anyone, whether they were on an isolated island in the sea or not," Draco said. "Do you know who Hagrid is?" he asked the children. When they shook their heads no, he explained, "Rubeus Hagrid is the Keeper of Keys and Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts. He is a half giant and had long bushy black hair and a big black bushy beard. Quite a sight, if I do say so."

Hermione continued her story, "He gave Harry his letter and his cousin a pig's tail when the cousin ate the birthday cake Hagrid had brought Harry. Hagrid wasn't supposed to be doing magic except to get Harry's letter to him."

When they went into the kitchen to put the finishing touches on the dinner, Draco told Hermione, "I think the children would be enthralled by your adventures with Potter and Weasley if you ever tired of reading books to them."

Hermione turned serious, "Sarah and Jonah are the only eleven year-olds this year and will have to live at Hogwarts year round once they start school since it went so well with Riddle-returning orphans to Orphanages. I am thinking of offering them a home for breaks. What do you think?"

"I think you are a caring and loving mother who sees them as needing some of that in their lives. Summers will not be easy when they become teenagers, but if anyone is up to it you are," Draco said. "I think I know someone who would be glad to help you."


	31. Ch 30 Malfoys New Years Eve Ball

**Disclaimer: The characters and settings in this story belong to J.K. Rowling.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 30<strong>

**Malfoys' New Year's Eve Ball**

Everyone who was anyone had waited all year to see if they would receive one of the exclusive invitations to the party of the season. The only four years it hadn't been held since the beginning of time some said, were 1997-2001. Everyone knew that it was because of the unwanted house guests followed by the mourning period and then the rebuilding. After all you just didn't invite the kind of riff-raff and hangers-on that associated with the Dark Lord to a formal occasion. No matter how he spouted pureblood superiority, the man had no manners. His "friends" were totally uncouth and lacking in the niceties that would garner them an invitation to an A-list society invitation.

Then when the war ended there were so many killed from everyone's families that the entire wizard world was in mourning. Granted some of the dead were mourned more than others, but they were mourned nonetheless.

There was also the matter of repaying debts to society and time spend in Azkaban by the head of house, but lists of wanted persons and dark objets d'art that had been owned by many of the community. Not all of the items that had been imbued with dark magic had remained in the hands of the notorious for some had been passed to the unsuspecting for nefarious reasons. Lord Malfoy knew, as the muggles say, where the bodies were hidden. In exchange for a lesser sentence, also like the muggles say, he had sung like a canary, then greased the cogs of government with enough in back taxes to get it back on its feet. (It is amazing how many Galleons a corrupt government can go through!) Lady Malfoy along with their son donated many hours to charities as well as great sums of money. This is why when the invitations to the Malfoy New Year's Eve Ball were sent out in late November 2002 they included a notice of an art auction to be held in conjunction with the gala. As time had gone by the invitations not only included the pureblood elite and the oligarchy, but war heroes and the titans of industry had been added to the list. Others had been added because they were friends or relatives of the aforementioned groups.

Hermione was thinking about how times had changed. Here she was attending the event of the year. As a muggleborn, this would have never happened. As the mother-in-law of an heir of the Malfoy dynasty she was going to be attending and her date for the evening was none other than the heir, Draco Lucius Malfoy, himself. She shook her head as though to clear all the thoughts of the transformation of ideals.

She carefully dressed in the "Holly and the Ivy" designed and made exclusively for the Lavender Pansy line. Then she put the pearl necklace with the green holly leaf pendants and the HJG letter pendants between the pearls. She inserted the pearl ear studs with the chains and a ruby dangle at the end of each. She put on the matching cloak and was picking up her evening bag when she heard the door bell ring. Crossing the room she only paused to check the peek-hole before opening the door to allow Draco to enter. "Can you please help me with my bracelet?" she asked her date. "Every time I go to clasp it, it spins and I miss."

He laughed and said, as he clasped the offending piece of jewelry, "You know you are a witch and you can just use your wand to fasten it on your arm."

"I know, I just forget because I had done it the 'muggle way' for the early years of my life."

Hermione gave him a once over. Dressed in dark green tuxedo dress robes he was easily the most handsome man she had ever seen. The cut and the material showed that money could buy perfection when it came to formal wear. She let out a long low whistle that startled him a little. "You will by far be the best dressed man at the ball."

"You were right," he conceded. "That dress is perfect for you. I swear you are looking positively Slytherin tonight." Draco pulled Hermione to him and gave her a passionate kiss that left her breathless. As they broke for air he turned serious and asked, "Do you remember what I asked you to think about?"

"Yes, and I did," she replied.

"Hermione Jean Granger, the suspense is killing me. You are the light of my life. You are the smartest person I know, witch, and wizard, man, woman, pureblood, half-blood, muggle-born, hands down. You challenge me to be a better person. You laugh at my inane jokes and let me blow off steam when I need to. You tell me when I am out of line and you praise me when I have done something noteworthy. Please say that you will be willing to make our relationship more permanent and marry me."

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, you are to me all you have said about me and more. I would be honored to make our relationship more permanent and marry you."

He opened a jewelry box to reveal a beautiful ring with a large center stone of garnet. The garnet was surrounded by diamonds and then there were three peridot stones on each side. This was truly a one of a kind for it had her green birthstones, and his red birthstone and the diamonds for love. Inscribed inside the band were the runes for today, tomorrow and always.

"You were really sure of yourself, weren't you?" Hermione stated as he slipped the ring onto her finger after allowing her to thoroughly examine it. With that he drew her hand to his heart and with the other hand cupped her cheek.

"I was certain how much I loved you and knew that if you loved me half as much you would say, 'Yes!'" he replied with a catch in his voice. Then he pulled her in for a sweet kiss that deepened when she responded. "I'm afraid we need to be going or they will send out a search party." With that he pulled her into a hug and apparated into the drawing room of Malfoy Manor.

"I take it we are going to need more champagne," Lucius observed as they pulled apart. "Your mother and I used to apparated that way, still do from time to time. It's much better than side-by-side."

Dressed in a royal purple gown with gold, amethyst and diamond jewelry, Narcissa was every bit the society dame. She was perfectly complemented by Lucius in royal purple tuxedo robes of the same shade. His jewelry, however, was silver to coordinate with the head of his walking stick. "Oh, good," she remarked, "I'm so glad you are here. We need to move through to the ballroom for the reception line. Rose and Scorpius are already there."

"Muffy," Lucius called for a house-elf, "we need six champagne glasses and two of the chilled bottles of the best champagne. Please request that Master Scorpius and Mistress Rose please join us for a toast."

"Yes, Master Lucius," Muffy replied and disappeared with a snap of her fingers.

Within a couple of minutes Rose and Scorpius entered the drawing room wondering at the summons. Rose was dressed in a bronze one shouldered column gown. There was a thigh-high slit up one thigh to show off a shapely leg and the black high heeled sandals she wore. Scorpius was resplendent in black tuxedo robes with a cummerbund and bow tie to match Rose's dress. "Grandfather," Scorpius asked, "did you want us?"

"Yes," the eldest Malfoy said. "We are going to make a toast as soon Muffy finishes filling our glasses."

Raising his full glass Lucius toasted, "To Draco and Hermione may your lives together be everything you dream. May you share your ups and downs, ins and outs, and never let your anger separate you. To your future together, may your love shine."

"To Draco and Hermione," echoed Scorpius, Rose and Narcissa and they all raised their glasses in the toast.

"To Hermione," Draco toasted, "you have made me the happiest man alive by agreeing to be my wife."

"To Hermione," the toast was shared.

"To Draco, "Hermione toasted, "you have brought me from the doldrums of life and brought me sunshine and peace. I am proud to agree to marry you."

"To Draco."

"Well, we need to adjourn to the ballroom as our guests should be arriving shortly," the matriarch directed.

The reception line was a blur of guests coming and greeting their hosts before moving to the food tables or to see the art for the auction that was on display in the green reception room. Once, a majority of the guests had arrived, the Malfoys split up and mingled. A chamber orchestra provided music for the assembly as they visited, dined and participated in the auction. Later the orchestra was replaced by a swing band reminiscent of the big band era that could play music for dancing from every era. The trio of Malfoy men led their significant others to the floor and started the dancing.

Just before midnight Draco took the floor from the band and said that he had two announcements, "First the auction has raised over 100,000 Galleons for the Orphanage." Everyone applauded the outcome. "Second and more importantly, Hermione Granger has agreed to marry me. Please raise your glasses to toast in the New Year as well as this good news." With that he raised his glass and winked at Hermione.

Then he turned back to the audience and said, "If you will fill your glass again and join me on the south lawn we have a special display provided by Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Just as the clock chimed twelve the fireworks went off. There were red, yellow, green, blue, and white. There were rockets, flowers, waterfalls and Charlotte's wheels, but the finale was a glowing red, gold and green display that read, "She said Yes!"

"What would you have done if I had said, 'No!'" Hermione asked.

"Well, we don't have to worry about that, do we?" was his response.


	32. Ch 31 Ice Skating

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the characters and locations in this story, **except for Hannah's inn. I have used the map of Hogsmeade from the Harry Potter Lexicon site to place it.

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><p><strong>Ice skating<strong>

Hermione didn't know that Draco even ice skated and had been surprised that he had invited her. Now that the day had arrived, she wondered where they were going. Draco said to dress warmly and pack an overnight bag so she assumed that they would not be ice skating in England. She was putting the finishing touches on her hair when she heard the sound of the door bell.

"One minute," she called from her bedroom.

After looking through the peep hole, she opened the door to allow the handsome blond to enter her flat. "You look like you are ready for cold weather," she said observing his parka, mittens and Weasley scarf.

"You need a coat," he replied. "That is if you are planning on going out. If not we can just start from scratch. I now have your daughter's permission for 'sleep-overs'." They laughed at the reference Rose had made when they announced that they were dating to Hermione's admonition when the younger witch was dating.

"I just need to put my coat on and am ready to go," stated Hermione.

He looked around for her bag and upon seeing none asked, "Didn't you pack for overnight?"

Hermione stepped out of her cloak closet wearing a red parka with a white hat and mittens and a gold scarf. "I have it here," she answered holding out a small black leather bag that matched her boots.

"I forget that you have taken undetectable extension charms to new lengths," he laughed. "Have you done that with all your bags?"

She gave him a very Slytherin smirk and answered back, "What good is being a witch if you cannot use it to the maximum good advantage."

He held out a piece of newspaper and said, "Your chariot awaits, M'lady," as it began to glow green. Hermione took hold of the portkey and they were whisked away with the familiar pull of travel.

"This could not be more perfect!" Hermione exclaimed as they reached their destination. He remarked that they needed to check in at the inn before they went to the Black Lake for skating. There had been many changes to the village of Hogsmeade. There were many new businesses and houses that had been built following the war. The proprietors tried to keep with the flavor of the environs but bring more facilities to the parents who, in the first years following the Second Wizard War, wanted to be able to stay close to the Castle on various occasions. The inn where Draco had booked them was off the main street near the Shrieking Shack. It had been built in the pub tradition with a pub and kitchen, as well as a large meeting room downstairs and rooms to let above.

"I have a reservation for a room," Draco told Hannah as he walked up to the bar where she was cleaning up from the lunch crowd.

"Of course, Draco, it is ready." She smiled and added, "Let me get you the key from the back."

She returned a minute later with a key. "You are at the top of the stairs and last room on the right, number twelve." Then she looked inquisitively, "Hello, Hermione. May I help you?"

Hermione grinned back and grabbed Draco's arm possessively with her left hand showing the engagement ring, "No, I think I have all I need."

"You two are engaged?" the innkeeper asked.

"Since New Year's Eve," Draco replied, "and we will be planning a quiet honeymoon where nobody would think to find us in the summer, if you know what I mean." He smirked at the last statement.

"I get the picture," Hannah replied. "Old village near a school which will be uninhabited for the most part during summer break in the Highlands of Scotland would be the perfect place. Everyone would think you would take your new bride to an exotic locale."

"Hogsmeade is exotic to me," agreed Hermione.

"Tea will be served at four o'clock and supper from six to eight. Breakfast tomorrow can be brought up to your room any time between six and ten as I have to get lunch ready before eleven. You can also come down for meals. You just need to let me know," Hannah recited as if from a script.

"We are going ice skating on the lake, and then will be back for tea," Hermione told the hostess.

"Would you like to have hot chocolate to take with you?" Hannah asked. "It is no trouble to make."

The couple left their bags in their room which was clean and light with a beautiful en suite giving it the feeling of a bed and breakfast. It was decorated in a pleasing mix of cottage hospitality and elegant modernism in shades of light blues, light greens and tans. As Hermione pulled her skates from her bag, Draco took them and tied the laces together and threw them over his shoulder along with his. He took her small mitten covered hand in his larger one and they started down the stairs.

"Wait a minute," Hannah called from the kitchen. "This should keep you warm until you return. If you had not attended school here I would remind you to put a warming spell on your toes, fingers, noses and ears, but I guess that isn't necessary. Have fun!"

The couple walked hand in hand until they crossed the train tracks and started toward the end of the lake. They could see the benches that that had been set up so that skaters would have a place to sit while donning their skates. There was also a small fire pit laid and ready for the skaters to light for warmth within the semi-circle of benches. Draco lit the fire then cleared the snow from in front of the center bench. He knelt in front of Hermione and said, "Give me a foot, please."

"You don't have to put my skates on me," Hermione replied.

"No, I don't have to, but I want to." He took the right booted foot in his hands and sensuously lowered the zipper that ran from her knee to just below the ankle. Taking her calf in his hands he ran them down to her foot and then slid the boot off. He just as suggestively smoothed her wool sock to stand up toward the knee, then rubbing his hands over her foot and playing with her toes he cast a warming charm before sliding the ice skate on. Just as slowly as he had removed the leather boot, the boot of the skate had taken its place. He deftly laced the boot, not too loose, but not too tight either. He repeated the process with just as much attention to the left foot as given to the right. He didn't know if the witch seated before him was aware of how erotic this simple act had been and how much he wanted to just take her until he looked up from her feet into her chocolate eyes. He noticed that she too was breathing hard. He took her face between his hands and pulled her in for a lingering kiss before he pulled back and said, "I need my skates on if I am to join you."

Hermione leaned forward with her mitten covered hands toward the fire pit wrapped up in the image of him changing her footwear. It was simple act but he had done it so lovingly. It was as though he was worshiping every inch of her in the act of putting the skates on her feet. She was pulled from her reverie when he reached for his mittens on the bench beside her. Hermione whispered a warming charm and then pulled the coverings onto his hands. Standing she offered him her hand and broke the silence, "Let's see how the ice is."

They walked onto the ice and slid away separately, then came together. They twirled and glided, sometimes separately, sometimes together. It was like a practiced dance although they had never skated together before.

Hannah looked out the door of the inn and noticed that Neville coming back from the direction of the lake. "Come see this," he invited her.

"I wouldn't want to interrupt anything," she replied shaking her head.

"No, grab a cloak and come on." He urged her, "This is something you would have never dreamed of happening when we were in school."

Hannah took her cloak from the hook and buttoned it as she ran after Neville toward the Black Lake. They stopped at the edge of the clearing where they were greeted with a picturesque tableau. Draco and Hermione were skating together, right hand in right hand and left in left, then they spin and he pulled her close as though in a waltz. "The world cannot help but be right when Draco and Hermione are dancing like that," Hannah whispered. "Did you know they were engaged?"

He nodded and pulled the shivering Hannah close to him.


End file.
